Winchester, Smith & Wesson
by Taylor Hayes
Summary: Dean and Sam are asked to work a job with two other hunters taking down a nest of vamps. Set season five.  Enjoy! Rated for language/dialogue.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

a/n These gals are NOT, I repeat, NOT Mary-Sue's, as they annoy me. But they are a ton of fun to write. Give it a try! You might enjoy it. *grin*

Two brothers walk into a bar...

Dean and Sam Winchester peered around the dimly lit watering hole, searching for the girls Bobby had described.

_"One looks like a model who doesn't give a shit 'bout her clothes. Half black and half white, with dark hair and eyes. Five-ten and a half, and 32-years-old, but I didn' tell ya that. She'll be glarin' and drinkin' single malt scotch._

_"Th'other one's a little over five feet, with curly blonde hair, too much makeup, and is probably gonna be wearin' somethin' like a tube top and miniskirt, or shorts like Daisy Duke. And she may look like dolled up jailbait, but she's about 28. And ya _still_ didn' hear that from me!"_

It took them less then a minute to identify the girls in question. While the taller one looked like a too-pretty hard ass who could _possibly_ be a hunter, the other brought them up short. She was tiny, and wearing an outfit they would expect to see on a college girl during spring break, not on a serious killer of all things supernatural.

But according to Bobby, the two girls had been working together for years, and had taken down nearly as many monsters as Sam and Dean.

As they approached the corner booth the girls had picked (_Good view of the front door, bathrooms, and the door to the kitchen_, Dean noted.), the older one gave them a look that would have made many tough men think twice. The younger girl merely welcomed them with a bright smile.

"Hey," Dean spoke first, carefully keeping his distance from the table until the taller girl gave them the okay. "Bobby said you wanted some help."

"Hey," the girl nodded shortly. She gestured to the smaller one. "This is Elizabeth Smith and I'm Gabrielle Wesson. You must be the Winchesters?"

The boys nodded, and slid into the booth across from the girls. The little, showy gal reached out a hand and shook with them both. "Hiya, boyos! Call me Lizzy. I hate Elizabeth."

"What are we up against?" Dean asked immediately.

Gabrielle answered. "A nest of vamps. They turned too many a month ago, and ended up wiping out an entire damn city. But they had bad luck on their way down in this direction."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. They stopped in the Alton Family's town."

A feral grin spread on Dean's face. "No shit?"

"No shit," Gabrielle nodded. "In this place, they supposedly wised up a little."

"How so?" Sam piped up, curiosity scrunching up his forehead.

She sighed. "They grabbed a bus full of kids. Fifth graders who'd been on an overnight field trip to an observatory a couple towns over."

Eyes went wide, and anger started pumping in both boys. They had seen a hell of a lot of shit in their lives, but if there was one thing that flipped their righteous anger switches, it was creatures that went after children.

"How did you two get called in?" Sam finally asked.

This time it was Lizzy who answered. "The vamps drained the bus driver and the teacher, but apparently the leader took a shine to the parent chaperoning. He told the rest to leave the woman alone. She was lucky enough to be sitting right by the emergency door, and yanked it open, grabbed her kid and ran."

Gabrielle picked up the story. "It was close enough to dawn that they must have decided she wasn't worth going after, 'cause they let her get away. And she knew who to call."

"How?"

"Our aunt," Lizzy grinned. "The woman had been staying with her sister a couple years ago when they were being tormented by a malevolent revenant. Aunt Kim was the one who finally took it out."

"And we took over her business number after she died."

"I'm sorry," Sam murmured. "Do you mind me asking what it was that killed her?"

"Pagan god," Gabrielle spat. "From Bali, of all places."

"It was moving around attached to a cursed object. And, surprise, surprise! It kept turning up to be auctioned off at estate sales." Lizzy elaborated with a frown.

"Did you manage to-?" Dean trailed off.

"Oh hell yes. We destroyed the damn god. Turned out it was scared of fire, since the original myth said that it had been burned alive in its first life. So I got to keep it distracted and burn it to the ground, while Lizzy flirted her way into the auction house, stole the object, and melted it down."

Lizzy giggled. "The guy was cute. Too bad I got him fired."

With an exaggerated roll of her eyes, Gabrielle continued. "Which means I'm the one who got stabbed through the chest." Here she pulled down the neck of her shirt just far enough to show them the rough scar several inches below her collarbone. "Just a little farther to the left, and I would have been sharing a pyre with Aunt Kim. Not to mention these." This time she held out her arms.

"Those are some nasty burns," winced Dean. He recalled a time with a hot poker in a house full of psychotic humans.

"Yeah," she sighed. "And thanks to these, most of the guys I end up with assume I like kinky, just because of all the scars. Assholes."

"I know exactly what you mean, sweetheart," Dean smiled easily.

Gabrielle's eyes narrowed. "Uh-uh, cowboy."

"What?"

"You wanna know what I've heard from the grapevine about the Brothers Winchester? That the absurdly tall one's the little brother, who is Stanford smart, addicted to research, and doesn't know the meaning of 'I don't wanna talk about it'. And the other one is the big brother, who is sexy and full-of-himself, can kill pretty much anything that comes gunning for him, will hit on anything that moves and sleep with anything in a skirt."

They all sat in silence, and the guys considered her words. Then Gabrielle added two simple sentences.

"They also say you started the Apocalypse. But I really don't give a damn if you did."

Sam's eyes shot wide, and he instinctively knew Dean had the same stunned look he did.

She shrugged. "Bobby's told us a lot of stories about you two, and I know that even if it's true, you would never start the end of the world on purpose. And you wouldn't just leave us all to hang if you did. You'd be out there, doing whatever you could to keep killing the evil. So, while there may be some idiot hunters out there who are demanding your heads on platters, we won't."

She was surprised to see tears shining in both sets of eyes, which were quickly blinked away. Sam sniffed a little, and Dean cleared his throat. "Where are you two staying?"

"We booked two rooms with a connecting door when Bobby called to say you were coming. Don't say it!" Gabrielle turned sharply on, not Dean, but Lizzy.

Lizzy pouted and shrugged. "Whatever do you mean, oh cousin mine?"

"I am sick to death of your obsession with the kink-and-sex comments, got it? I swear, sometimes you are such a _guy_."

"Not from where I'm sitting," Dean chuckled appreciatively.

The older girl spun on the big brother. "I don't wanna hear it out of you, either! Lizzy already has enough goddamn hormones, off-color jokes, and anatomically impossible suggestions to last a life time. She's like a guy in that she always seems to be horny and looking for the next hookup. And don't even _think_ of using any of what I just said to get her in bed, Dean Winchester, or I will slug you until you loose teeth!" she finished with a growl.

Dean held up his hands in supposed defeat, a cocky grin spreading on his lips.

"But I wanted to add a Winchester notch to my bedpost!" Lizzy laughed coyly.

Both boys watched in shock as Gabrielle smacked the smaller girl squarely on the back of the head, a gesture they both recognized as something learned from Bobby.

With an exasperated mutter, Gabrielle stood and walked quickly out of the bar, the other three hurriedly jumping up and following.

As they moseyed through the parking lot, Dean sidled up next to Gabrielle. "So, which one's your car? We need to know what to follow."

This finally brought a smile to her lips, lighting up the grim set of her face until they saw the beauty in it, instead of the threat she projected.

Her younger cousin sighed. "Oh great. Now she's never gonna shut up."

Sam turned to look down at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that damn car is the pride and purpose for her existence. She loves it more than she loves _me_," Lizzy grumbled.

"Hiya, baby," the older woman purred, her voice the silky tones of a lover that made both boys momentarily wish she was talking to one of them.

Then Dean's eyes traveled past Gabrielle to the cherry red car she was caressing.

His breath caught in his throat. "Is that a-?"

"Customized, 1968 Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500KR? Oh yes she is," Gabrielle sighed sweetly. "Baby was a wreck when I found her, but I got all the parts I needed to put her back together, with some help from Bobby and a few other friends. Isn't she gorgeous?"

"Friggin' beautiful," an awed Dean nodded. Then his gaze tracked back up to the woman who was just as good-looking as the car, and his eyes shone. "Can you cook?"

She blinked a couple times, then tilted her head, considering his question. "I can barbecue. And I make a mean apple pie."

There was a moment of silence, then Dean jumped forward and grabbed her hand. "Will you marry me?" he asked earnestly.

While Gabrielle stood in shock, Lizzy let out a long sigh.

"Shit."

"What?" Sam's eyes tracked down to the small girl again.

She shook her head, frowning. "The only way I can win any man is to get him into bed first."

"Huh?"

Lizzy grinned up at him. "Dude, I have to dress up like this-" she gestured down at her slutty college girl attire, "-to so much as get guys to think I'm not her 14-year-old little sister's friend. She gets out of bed, and doesn't even brush her hair or put on makeup, throws on a wife beater and some ripped skinny jeans, and no male can tear their eyes away."

Sam glanced over at Gabrielle and had to admit Lizzy's description of her cousin was accurate.

"Then there's the fact that she can handle herself in a fight, and knows how to use a gun," continued Lizzy. "And men always find that sexy as hell. She's overprotective of me, which guys instinctively and unconsciously read as good mother material, so she's an ideal mate in terms of protective reflexes. And she may not be a gourmet cook, but what man wouldn't be happy with meat, thrown on a grill and cooked perfectly, a couple baked potatoes, some corn on the cob, watermelon, and her famous apple pie? Plus, according to her last boyfriend, she's awesome in the sack. What kind of chance do I even have?"

Shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, Sam finally said, "I have no doubt you could get a guy you wanted just as easily as her. You kind of radiate sex appeal."

She tucked a hand through his arm and gave it a little hug. "Thanks. And it's true, I can do well enough on my own. I can look hot as anything when I feel like it, and I can fight, know my weaponry, and cook. But every single time, she tops me."

"How?"

With a groan, Lizzy shot her eyes at the Shelby Cobra. "She built that car from _scratch_, sweetie. Telling a guy that is like telling him you're not wearing any panties. Insta-hard-on."

Sam felt his cheeks get hot at the girl's straight forward words.

She noticed. "Oh shit. I embarrassed you. Shit!" Then she gave him a searching look and gasped. "Oh my god, are you gay?"

"_What?_ No, I'm no-"

"Jeez, I am so sorry. No wonder you're so embarrassed." Lizzy followed this statement by peeling herself off his arm. As she moved towards the older two, who had apparently gotten past the sudden proposal and were now chatting affably about the best ways to kill a Wendigo, Lizzy sighed. "Damn. Just my luck that one of the Winchester Brothers falls for Gabs, and the other's gay. This sucks."

Sam was frozen in place, then ran after her, trying to figure out how to set her straight without letting Dean know what they were talking about. Otherwise, the mocking would never stop.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

a/n Hehe, these chicks are fun to write. And I like the way the guys react. No, I don't think they're gonna be pairing up. But probably they'll all share some angst! And if anyone's confused about how many seats there are in the Shelby Cobra, IT'S NOT A MISTAKE. It just doesn't get explained till later. And I don't care if it doesn't make sense! Just go with it.

"She seriously thought you were _gay?_" Dean chortled from his bed.

Sam gritted his teeth and refused to look up from his computer. "Shut up, Dean." It hadn't been funny the first thousand times, and it wasn't funny now.

"Jeez, Princess, don't take it personal. You can be such a girl sometimes, Sammy," he mocked, needing to get the last word in. Then Dean's mind went somewhere else. "Ya think Gabrielle would go out with me, if I asked?"

Now it was Sam's turn to tease his big brother. "She turned you down cold in, like, three seconds flat, dude," he grinned, sipping his coffee. It was refreshing to see a girl who didn't immediately fall under Dean's spell.

"Yeah, man, but I was proposing marriage then!" defended Dean, expression annoyed. "She might be more open to a casual game of pool, some burgers, a few beers, and a night of mind-blowing sex, right? And we'll work back up to marriage from there." That cocky smile was back on his face. "And, _dude!_ Did you _see_ that _car?_ So damn hot!"

"The girl, or the car?"

"Both, Sammy! Seriously, this might be the girl for me, man."

Sam let out a laugh at that. "Dream on, Dean. I'm pretty sure she thinks you're some kind of non-monster woman eater. And the read I got off her was that she's an old fashioned, one guy and one girl to a relationship, kind of chick."

"Damn."

Which was when there was a single thud on the connecting door.

Dean rolled up off the bed and brushed down his shirt, still grinning, while Sam stayed seated at the table, sitting up straight to see over his laptop.

Pulling open the door, Dean greeted Gabrielle with a wink. Her response was a hard, annoyed glare. She stalked into the room in bare feet and leaned against a spot on the opposite wall. Lizzy bounced in from behind her, wearing jeans and a long sleeved tee that were closer to hunter clothes, but still too tight.

The blonde rushed over to Sam and gave him a hug that surprised him, and was so enthusiastic it nearly knocked him off his chair. "I am so, SO sorry I assumed you were gay! Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, but most heterosexual guys don't appreciate the comparison or being mistaken for a _mano a mano_ man! So I'm really sorry!"

Sam caught Dean's smothered laugh, and the suggestively raised eyebrow over the small girl's shoulder and glared. Then he peeled Lizzy off of his chest, where she had somehow managed to press every inch of the top half of her body to him. She finally backed off, but only after dropping a kiss on his cheek.

Then she stepped back and plopped down on the end of the nearest bed. "So, how's tricks, boyos?"

"We're doin' fine," Dean responded, but his gaze stayed fixed on Gabrielle, whose eyes were darting around the room. "What'cha looking for, beautiful?"

The tall girl seemed to take a moment to realize Dean meant her. Her dark eyes met his sparkling green ones and she shrugged. "Checking out your defenses."

Dean looked around the room, wondering if she thought what they'd done was inadequate. "You don't trust us to know how to keep ourselves safe?" he demanded.

She just looked at him. It was Lizzy who answered. "That's not it at all, silly! It's just something Gabs does whenever we work with other hunters. She's always on the lookout for a new sigil or two so our temporary protections can be improved."

"Ah," both boys nodded. _That_ they got.

"What can we do for you lovely ladies this fine morning?" the smooth words came from Dean.

Gabrielle was still glaring at him. "We were gonna go scope out the place that it looks like the nest is staying. It's an abandoned farm out past the edge of town."

"And?" The grin was back in triumph on Dean's face. He knew they would want back-up, even on a scouting run.

But Gabrielle refused to say it. There was something about Dean that rubbed her the wrong way, and she was seriously beginning to resent that Bobby had sent him as help.

Lizzy knew her cousin well enough to know every thought rushing through her head, so it was up to her to extend the invitation. "Having someone to watch our backs would not be amiss. Wanna come along?"

Now both Dean and Gabrielle were scowling, him in disappointment, her in annoyance, and the younger two exchanged laughing looks.

Sam pushed to his feet. "Yeah. Let's get going."

Gabrielle hurried out of the room, and Lizzy followed, blowing a kiss at the boys. "See you in a minute, boyos!"

Dean and Sam watched the door close, then shared raised eyebrows.

It was only after they'd pulled on shoes and loaded up their duffels with weapons that Dean finally asked, "Why the hell does she keep calling us _boyos?_"

When the guys got out of their room, the girls stood, ready and waiting.

"So, whose car are we taking?" were the first words out of Sam's mouth.

He didn't mean to start a fight, but that's what it turned into.

"What the hell is the matter with you? Sure, your car is _fine_, but the Impala is clearly the better car!"

"What the hell is wrong with _you?_ You need your eyes checked if you think that stupid Impala is better then my Shelby! You're on CRACK!"

"Oh, do _not_ call my baby stupid! That's just wrong! You're just _messed up!_"

"_I'm_ messed up? You're the asshole who doesn't appreciate a truly amazing car, bastard!"

"Say _what_, bitch?"

Lizzy and Sam sat on the hoods of the respective vehicles, comparing their impressions of different states.

"-well, I admit that Louisiana has some awesome history. But I still prefer Massachusetts, when it comes to that."

"Okay, I can see that. But, come on! Louisiana has New Orleans! And, yes, most of the guys in the French Quarter are pervs looking to get laid, but the food and shopping there kicks Boston's butt!"

"Dude, I'm a guy. Guys don't shop."

"They do if they're gay!"

"I told you, I'm not gay!"

"I know, Sammy. Don't freak out."

"No one calls me Sammy."

"Dean does."

"That's because he's _Dean_. He lives to make my life miserable and remind me I'm the baby brother."

"Dude, you _are_ the baby brother. And it's cute. I mean, Gabs is always way too overprotective, and she hates when I'm crude, and never likes the guys I date or sleep with, but I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. Except maybe Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp on a tropical beach. But nothing else."

"You're kinda crazy."

"I know," she twinkled.

"And you're right. Even with everything that's happened, he's my big brother. I love the jerk."

"See? That's what I mean. They make your life hell, but if you take a step back and just see how they treat you, you can't help but love them like crazy."

"Yeah."

"Which means we're all screwed up 'cause we're so codependent."

Sam nodded, then they both looked over at the two in question. "So, how are we supposed to resolve this?"

"You mean _before_ she goes for the shiv at her back?"

"Or he reaches for the bowie knife in his boot."

Lizzy stretched, then stood up straight. "Guys!" When there was no response, she reached in the back seat of the Shelby and pulled out a crowbar. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs, "QUIT ARGUING OR I START BUSTING HEADLIGHTS!"

That brought Dean and Gabrielle both up short, and they spun on her with death glares. She just shrugged and smiled sweetly. "Come on, guys. We need to get out and doing stuff, not fighting about which car is prettier. Especially since I am, obviously, the prettiest thing in this entire parking lot."

A snort of laughter erupted from behind her, and Lizzy spun to scowl at Sam. She held up the tire iron again. "Deny it and I make you pay, buddy!"

He held up his hands, but couldn't seem to wipe the smile off his face.

Then Lizzy spun back to Dean and Gabrielle. "You know, there are a couple other errands that need to be run. So how's about me and Dean go pick up some Dead Man's Blood, and Sam and Gabrielle do the scouting. That way, both cars get driven, and we all get to know each other better!"

Both of the older hunters started to protest, but Sam hopped down and stood behind Lizzy. "I think that sounds like a great idea."

Dean and Gabrielle turned back to glare at each other.

"You touch a hair on her silly, blonde head and I will _kill_ you. Got it?"

"Got it. And if anything happens to Sammy, I'll kill _you_," Dean growled back.

Then they both stomped over to their cars and got in, starting the engines at almost the same moment.

Sam and Lizzy shot each other amused looks, then nodded, grabbed duffels, throwing them in the right cars, and jumped into the passenger seats.

With a roar, Gabrielle pulled out first, and got out of the parking lot, heading west. Dean groused for a minute, then got the Impala out of the parking space and headed for the exit, turning the car to the east.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

a/n Seriously, it is fun having all the misunderstandings and arguments. But Lizzy's about to do some meddling and some teasing. *evil grin*

As they drove, Dean kept a stony silence for as long as he could manage. But the incessant, funny chatter of the girl beside him quickly broke through his brooding.

He finally turned to her, and asked, "What the hell is up with your cousin?"

Lizzy tilted her head. "In what way?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "Just... everything. The whole 'stay the hell away', 'my way or the highway', 'we're better then you and lowering ourselves to work with you'. That."

"She's just... she doesn't like relying on people she hasn't known forever and totally trusts," was the quiet response.

"Care to elaborate?"

"It's a kinda long story."

"It's a kinda long drive, since the morgue all these tiny places use is four towns over."

Lizzy looked at him carefully, then nodded. "When Gabs was fourteen, she got into her first real relationship. And the guy seemed nice, until he got really possessive. She broke it off, he started stalking her, and everyone was freaking out. Anyway, Aunt Kim finds out and convinces Uncle Tom, Gabs' dad, to let Gabs stay with her for the summer. She started teaching her how to defend herself.

"While all this was happening, Aunt Kim kept turning down hunts. 'Cause, I mean, she had her oblivious, already scared niece spending the summer with her. She didn't think throwing monsters into the equation was such a hot idea. But then something started prowling the farms around hers, and so she went after it."

Lizzy paused and sighed. "Gabs ended up in the middle of the mess somehow. They never really explained it to me. She nearly got killed. They claimed it was a wild dog that tore up her arms and back."

"What was it for real?" Dean asked quietly, eyes drifting from the road to the petite woman beside him.

"Black Dog."

"Damn."

"Yeah," she frowned. "And Aunt Kim, of course, is expecting Gabs to freak out and panic and refuse to speak to her ever again. Instead, she asked Aunt Kim to teach her. Said something along the lines that she never wanted to be helpless again. That she wanted to be able to help other people the way Aunt Kim did.

"She didn't like it, but Aunt Kim finally agreed."

"What about you?" Dean steered them through another small main street in a podunk town.

"I'm four years younger than Gabs. And she forbid Gabs from telling me anything, because she knew we were closer then sisters. Nothing ever happened that the other didn't know about. I mean, we grew up two streets apart! So Gabs tried to lie, but we both knew I didn't believe her. I tried not to take it personally, but who was I kidding? We'd shared every part of our lives previous to that point, why was it all changing now? What was it Gabs couldn't trust me with?"

This time when Dean glanced over, Lizzy's eyes were closed and her head was leaned back against the seat.

"Of course, as usual, she was just trying to protect me. They only managed to keep it from me another two years. Then I found out."

Dean was curious. "How exactly _did_ you find out?"

Here, Lizzy sat up and grinned widely. "I stole Aunt Kim's journal."

"Wait," shocked, Dean gave her his full attention, completely ignoring the road. "You stole her _hunting journal?_ What did she do?"

With a light laugh, and a calm, "Watch the road, pretty boy!" Lizzy giggled, "She completely panicked. It was pretty damn funny watching her run around the house like a chicken with its head cut off. Of course, it wasn't as funny when she started pulling out the weapons. She had them stashed _everywhere_. Hell, there was a shotgun underneath her damn china!

"Eventually, I told her I had taken it and read it, and that I believed it. She tried to snow me, told me they were ideas for a book. I laughed at her. I'd already confronted Gabs, and she'd told me the truth. She wanted me to know so I could protect myself too.

"We finally convinced Aunt Kim I was old enough to know and start learning how to hunt. She didn't let me go with her and Gabs on any jobs for almost three years. But I wore her down. I've always been good at that."

There was a comfortable pause, and then Lizzy let out a chuckle. "Do you even remember where I was going with this, besides telling you our whole damn story?"

Dean shook his head. "I haven't got a clue. If I didn't know any better, I'd assume you didn't want to answer whatever the hell the original question was."

"Yup," she beamed. "You hit that nail right on the head, boyo. Now what kind of music have you got to break up the tedium?"

As Dean started to answer, the girl was already reaching for the box of cassettes and flipping through them. "AC/DC, Motorhead, Mötley Crüe, Kansas, Styx. So you're an eighties rock guy?"

"Oh yeah," he answered proudly, his shoulders straightening and a smile spreading across his lips. "How about you?"

Her laugh was infectious. "I listen to pretty much anything I can dance to. And I do mean _anything_."

"How about your cousin?"

"Gabs prefers Sting and Sade and Phil Collins."

"Seriously? Maybe that woman isn't perfect."

"Near about," Lizzy responded happily. "You're already half in love with her, aren't you?"

"You mean when I'm not considering strangling her?" he joked.

But Lizzy's blue eyes were serious as she looked over at him. "Even then, you can't get enough of her, can you?"

Dean shifted in his seat. Talking about relationships was always uncomfortable to him, even when it was just him and Sammy.

Lizzy ignored the sudden awkward feeling and continued. "Gabs seems hard. She's worked at it to be a tough, kick ass, take-no-prisoners woman. But she gets hurt by relationships easily. And you seem like the 'sailor with a girl in every port', if you get my meaning. When she's with a guy, he is _it_ for her. There are no maybe's or someday's, or one night stands. She's faithful, and expects for him to be faithful in return."

Then the corners of her lips curved up. "But she really does need to get laid more often."

That startled a laugh out of Dean, who turned and gave her an appreciative look. "You are one funny chick."

She hummed. "Don't I know it."

They reached the morgue and pulled up behind it. Dean reached for his wallet, extracting several Andrew Jacksons.

Lizzy looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Sweetheart, what are doing?"

He sighed. "We don't exactly look like cops, Liz. Our best bet is a bribe."

She laughed and winked. "Dean, you're riding with me now, honey. No money is needed." She hopped out of the car, eased her jeans down a few inches, pulled off her dark, long-sleeved shirt to reveal a tight, low cut, lacy pink camisole. Flipping her head over, she ran her hands through her hair, and pulled out a tube of lipstick and rolled the cherry red onto her lips. With a toss of her hair, and an extra sway of her hips, she called back over her shoulder, "Wait three minutes, then come in after me. Got it?"

Leaning out the window, Dean let out a low whistle as he watched her strut away. "Damn. We are not in Kansas anymore, baby," he murmured to the Impala.

He checked his watch, gave it exactly three minutes, then hurried into the front of the morgue. The attendant, was missing and no one was behind the desk. He peered around, and then heard voices from what he assumed was the autopsy room. As the girl's voice rose higher, he strode quickly over and threw the door open, prepared for trouble.

Someone came flying at him, and he had to check himself from striking out. When he looked down, it was Lizzy, looking utterly sensual, staring up at him with lips parted and shining, and eyes half closed. If he wanted, with the way she was pushed up against him, Dean could see straight down her top. He considered taking a peak, then remembered Gabrielle's parting words. _"...touch a hair on her silly, blonde head..."_

The attendant was a geeky guy, small and scrawny with a sad, patchy attempt at a beard. He was glaring at Dean like the taller man was the little guy's own personal demon.

"This is my boyfriend!" Lizzy giggled, channeling pure ditz.

Dean blinked but didn't contradict her, going along with the story.

"And this is Roger," she smiled obliviously, pointing at the tiny man. Who was still glowering angrily at Dean.

"You..." Roger clenched his teeth. "You said-"

Lizzy just kept grinning.

This made him even angrier. He stomped closer and tried to sound tough. But with the way Dean was watching him, it wasn't a surprise when his voice cracked on the last word. "You get the hell out of here or I'll call the police!"

Then Lizzy's voice twisted, still seductive, but suddenly very manipulative. "You do that, Roger, and we'll tell them we paid you to let us hook up in here. And even if we get kicked out or arrested, you'll get fired. At the very least."

That brought both men up short. The thought crossed Dean's mind that he did not want to get on this petite girl's bad side.

With another pissed look, the attendant muttered, "Thirty minutes." Then he hurried out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Immediately, Lizzy was all business, pulling away and tugging the top of her camisole up. "Come on. The dude on the autopsy table is a suspected murder victim, and they haven't cut him up yet, so he's still full of blood."

It took Dean a minute to catch up, but he shook his head and followed her to the table. Pulling out the extra large hypodermic needle, they quickly found a vein and drew out the nearly black liquid until the needle was full. Lizzy matter-of-factly pulled several blood bags from her back pockets.

"So, what'd you promise that douche bag anyway?"

"I didn't promise him anything, silly. I jut happened to tell him that dead bodies turned me on," she shrugged, holding out one of the bags. "He was the one who assumed he would be getting lucky."

The two quickly filled all the blood bags and packed them inside Dean's jacket. As he moved to head out of the room, Lizzy grabbed his shirt and pulled him back, then laid a long, wet kiss on his lips.

Before he consciously realized it, he was responding. The kiss got hot and heavy very quickly, and he felt her pull at his shirt, run her hands through his hair, and start to undo his belt. Dean leaned closer to her and his brain turned off, while his hormones kicked into overdrive.

Then she pulled away, licking her lips and grinning maliciously. "Mmm. Yummy."

Dean just stood there, arms out and empty, mouth open, trying to catch up.

Lizzy checked her watch, and pulled the straps of her camisole off her shoulders, the bodice farther down, and undid the top button on her jeans. "Ten minutes. That's probably good."

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, big boy. Let's go."

Lizzy swiveled her hips, Dean blinked a few times, then followed her out of the room. As they passed the attendant, who gave them a look of surprise, Dean threw him a smile brimming with satisfaction and reached out to slap Lizzy on the ass.

"She's a freak, man!" he said, raising an eyebrow.

When they reached the car, Lizzy grabbed the shoulder of Dean's jacket and yanked him down to give him a powerful "whap!" on the back of the head.

He spun with a look of pained confusion and innocence. "What?"

She stuck her hands on her hips and glared. "You hit my ass, I hit your head. Just be glad I'm not telling Gabs about this. She'd cut off something that wouldn't grow back."

He slung the bags of blood into the duffel in the back seat, then slid behind the wheel. Looking over at the girl, he raised an eyebrow. "So what would your cousin say if she knew you attacked me?"

Lizzy just grinned. "We needed to make it look legit."

"We could have just messed up our clothes a little bit."

"Yeah," she laughed. "But then I couldn't have claimed I've kissed both the Winchester Brothers. That will definitely raise my hunter cred."

"You kissed Sam?" Dean asked in surprise and mild disgust.

"No. But I will, before we split," she shrugged, supremely confident.

"Hey, leave Sammy alone, crazy chick," he tried to take the offensive.

"Give me one good reason, sweetie."

Dean frowned. "'cause it's gross. I mean, for you to make out with me and Sam, it's just... messed up."

She sighed. "I'll give you that."

"Thank you." But her grin threw him off. "What aren't you saying, Liz?"

"It doesn't count if he kisses _me_, Deano."

"Shit."

"Now will you start the car so we can get back to the motel before Gabs and Sam have to send out a search party?"

He nodded slowly then twisted the key in the ignition and the car roared to life.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

a/n Gabs may not currently like Dean, but she likes Bobby, so that kind of translates into appreciating Dean.

An hour later, they pulled back into one of the parking spaces in front of the motel. The crimson Shelby Cobra was already there.

"Guess they got back first."

Lizzy rolled her eyes. "No duh, boyo."

They grabbed their duffels and went into the room the guys were sharing. Sometime when no one was looking, it had become the agreed upon meeting place.

Lizzy and Dean walked in to the silence of the room. Sam was typing away at his laptop, while Gabs lay sprawled across one of the mattresses.

"You look comfy in my bed," Dean chuckled.

Both Gabrielle and Sam looked up quickly, and Gabrielle jumped off the bed as though it were on fire. Then she glared and dropped back down to sit on it. She looked past Dean at her little cousin. "Did you get it?"

Lizzy rummaged through her duffel bag and pulled out the stolen blood. "You better believe it, Gabs."

"Wow," Sam commented, standing up to get a better view of all the bagged liquid. "That's a hell of a lot more than we're normally able to get."

Dean smirked. "Dude, this chick does not operate like you and me."

Gabs groaned. "Please tell me you didn't have sex with whoever was working at the morgue again!"

The younger girl rolled her eyes. "Nuh-uh. He was a creepy looking perv. Dean got to barge in as my big, scary boyfriend."

"Thank God," her protector sighed. "You get tested once a month, and I still don't think it's enough."

But Lizzy just shrugged, a sad-little-girl, pity-me-instead-of-lecturing-me look on her face. And Gabrielle shook her head.

"How do you normally play that?" Dean couldn't help but ask.

This time Lizzy's grin was glowing with evil intent. "Gabs gets to play the big, scary _girlfriend_," she answered, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "And then she generally has to dissuade the pervs very forcefully from sticking around to watch."

Dean's eyes were wide, but he was smiling. Sam had to swallow hard to get the pictures suddenly rushing through his head to shut down.

And Gabrielle merely snatched several of the blood bags out of Lizzy's hands. "This should be enough. Unfortunately, our trip," here she gestured to herself and Sam, "-was not as productive."

"Whadya mean?" Dean asked, pulling out a chair to sit on, then slipping a machete and a whetstone out of his duffel. While he started sharpening the blade, he raised an eyebrow at Sam.

"We couldn't find the school bus," Sam admitted.

"So?"

Gabs glared. "So we need at least one more day to make sure our information is completely accurate. As much as I want to just bust in and save the kids, we need to make sure they're all there. That the nest hasn't split up into several places, and they're not turning and snacking on the children left and right."

The other three all nodded tightly, anger and sorrow in their eyes. Waiting meant a higher chance that another child or two would be dead before they could get to them. But it also meant they could save more in the long run. It was the type of choice that all hunters have to make sooner or later. And it never got any easier.

Just then, Gabrielle's phone rang. She pulled it out and checked the number. "It's Karen. The woman who called us in." Flipping open the phone, she said hello and then walked through the connecting door, closing it behind her. The three left behind could hear the murmur of her voice through the thin walls.

Lizzy watched her go and sighed. "Every time we make a decision like this, she beats herself up about it. Even if it's the only choice. Tonight is not going to be fun."

Dean and Sam exchanged some eye flicks and small nods. Lizzy caught this and smiled slightly. "So, what do you guys want?"

"Huh?" they both asked.

"Food, dumbos," she answered, rolling her shoulders as she pulled her wallet out of the duffel and headed for the door. "We do need to eat, you know. I'm gonna go grab something. What do you two want?"

Sam stood. "I can go with you, if you don't mind."

And Lizzy winked. "Oh, come on, Sam. I'm going to an actual store, not just a burger joint. And I know how you feel about shopping. Or do you have something about your orientation you'd like to get off your chest?

"Your a pair of guys who spent the day with two hot women. Compare notes, or something."

As she sashayed out the door, Dean let out a little laugh. When Sam turned to glare, Dean just shrugged. "So, what did you and Gabrielle talk about?"

Sam thought back on the drive. For the first ten minutes, there had been no sounds but the purr of the engine and the wind rushing past as they drove. Sam didn't even recognize why the quiet made him so uncomfortable. Then it had occurred to him that there was almost always music on in the Impala, when he and Dean went anywhere. The silence was wearing on Sam.

Finally, he couldn't take any more of it, and simply asked, voice angry and intent, "Why did you say that last night?"

Gabrielle had turned those dark, expressionless eyes to meet his. "What do you mean?"

"That you don't care if we started the Apocalypse. Why did you say that?"

She had searched his face for a moment, then turned back to the road. "Aunt Kim wasn't the only hunter Lizzy and me learned from. We always used to spend time at Bobby's too. He was like an uncle. We were always teasing Aunt Kim that she should just marry him and make it official. But we knew how much Bobby's wife Karen meant to him."

Her shoulders had dropped and her gaze grew distant. "He taught us all about demons and devil's traps. About all sorts of stuff. And every time we'd stay over, he'd look weary, or ecstatic. And we'd ask, and he'd tell us. About you and Dean. About your dad. Whenever he was tired, or angry, it was because of your dad. He said John was an excellent hunter, and he loved you guys, but it was like he had completely given up on being a father.

"Bobby talked about the fire you had. How you were willing to work so hard to get what you wanted, to not be browbeaten by your dad. And that always made Bobby proud. But there was this constant sorrow too."

They had both shifted in their seats, Sam in confused amazement, and Gabrielle in discomfort.

"One night, Aunt Kim left me and Lizzy with Bobby while she and some friends went after a small pack of werewolves. She didn't think we were ready for that just yet. And Bobby seemed so damn sad all day. Lizzy had been chattering the whole afternoon about the guy who had asked her to prom, and how she'd finally convinced Aunt Kim to teach her to sword fight. As soon as she lay down that night, she was out. I couldn't sleep, so I made sure Lizzy was all tucked in, grabbed a gun to clean, and went out on the porch.

"Bobby was already there. He was drunk and he was crying. I asked what had happened, and he had been trashed enough that he didn't try to hide it this time.

"He said your dad had left you and your brother in a motel in the middle of nowhere, because John thought that Dean had messed up somehow on the last hunt and you didn't want to go. And John had promised to be back in a week. It had been three weeks, you two were running low on cash, and Dean had gotten sick. But he hid it from you, because he didn't want you to worry. And he wasn't eating enough, because he was more concerned about you getting the food you needed. Dean couldn't find a job, the credit cards were maxed, he was too shaky to steal anything.

"So he'd called Bobby after he sent you off to school. Apparently, he just talked and cried for near on an hour. Bobby had offered to come pick you guys up, but Dean refused the help."

She had shaken her head, and turned to look straight into Sam's face. "Do you even realize that your brother defines his own worth by how well he can protect you?"

That had made Sam's mind simply shut down. It was a truth he had known most of his life, but he'd never really defined it like that. And suddenly so much of what Dean said and did made sense, like it never had before. Suddenly everything with the vessels, and how close Dean was coming to agreeing was understandable.

Then Gabrielle, had focused back on her driving. "Your life isn't quite so structured around your brother. But Bobby's made it clear that you care about Dean more than anyone.

"The reason I don't care if you started the Apocalypse, the reason I trust you two to do your very best to find a way to stop it, is because you're both stuck in this world. If Dean is in danger, you can't stop until you rescue him or ease his pain. And it's the same for him.

"Every time you've walked into a room since we met, he always puts himself in a position where he can jump in front of you and protect you, if he needs to. He orients his life around you. Did you know that?"

This was met with a dazed shake of the head, and she continued. "I don't like your brother. I think he's an ass who acts too full of himself. But I can respect him for the way he treats you. And I think you need to recognize what he's done, and what he's willing to do for you. If there's ever a time he doesn't want to tell you something, I have no doubt he is trying to protect you, or trying to protect his image in your eyes. Your opinion is the most important one to him. Don't forget that."

"Sam? Sammy?"

Snapping out of the memories, Sam turned to his big brother. "Sorry, dude. I guess I'm more tired then I though. What'd you ask?"

Dean huffed. "I asked what you and Gabrielle talked about."

Avoiding his brother's eyes, Sam shrugged. "Nothing, really. Just about the nest and the job." Then he couldn't help glancing at Dean. "And I think you might have a better chance at Gabs then I assumed."

That brought Dean to his feet. "Why? What'd she say? Did you two talk about me?"

Sam just shook his head, amused, and turned back to his computer.

Several minutes later, the connecting door swung open and Lizzy stepped in. "Hey, guys!" She held up several grocery sacks. "I bring food."

"Thanks," Sam smiled, as she pulled out fruits, rolls and salads.

Dean, on the other hand, stared at the items she was laying out. "Liz, please tell me you're hiding a cheeseburger in those bags."

"Nope," she responded, opening a salad and a little packet of Ranch dressing.

"Dammit, Lizzy, this is all rabbit food! Where's the real stuff?"

Lizzy rolled her eyes. "That was nearly exactly what Gabs said when I told her what I bought. She's gone out to find some 'actual food'." Here, the small girl used her fingers to make air quotes. "So if you really want to clog your arteries with fat, I'm sure you can find her and share."

That was all it took to have Dean grabbing his jacket and heading out the door.

And as he left, he could swear he saw the two remaining hunters wink at each other conspiratorially.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

a/n Angst and a fight! Who could ask for more? Also, no, I still don't think there's going to be pairing up. Just real friendship.

Dean stepped into the bar and straightened his shoulders. It took him only moments to focus on the familiar figure perched on a bar stool. Angry looks followed him as he aimed himself at the seat beside Gabrielle.

She didn't even look up, just threw back a shot (_At least her third_, if Dean was to judge by the empty glasses lined up before her.) and snarled, "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, then looked up at the bartender, pointed to the shot glasses and held up two fingers. Within moments, the paunchy, surly man shoved the glasses of amber liquid across to Dean and Gabrielle.

He looked over at Gabs as he picked up his drink. Her eyes were dazed and distracted.

"Have you eaten anything to go with all your alcohol?"

She sneered. "Don't try to big brother me, Winchester. I'm not Sam. I don't need you taking care of me, asshole."

"Man, you can be a real bitch, Gabs," Dean laughed. "Bartender, can we get some fries?" When the man nodded, Dean turned back to Gabrielle and was shocked to see tears running down her cheeks.

He didn't know what to say, or what to do. In the end, Dean drank his shot and waited.

Finally, Gabrielle spoke, voice a raspy growl. "A bunch of ten-year-old kids are penned up in the dark tonight, absolutely terrified. Just waiting to be tortured or killed."

There was an extended pause as she dropped her head in her hands. "I keep seeing Sara and Chrissy."

"Who?" Dean questioned quietly.

"They're my little sisters. My mom died when I was five. Eleven years later, my dad remarried. He and his second wife, Melanie, had two kids. Chrissy, Christina's fourteen. And Sara... Sara's in fifth grade. She turns ten next month."

"Oh." Dean responded, understanding flooding him. "Oh man."

Gabrielle turned to look at him, and the repressed pain in her eyes made Dean's chest hurt.

"I keep picturing those kids the vamps took... and I keep seeing Chrissy and Sara. I see a vamp reaching for Sara, as she fights and screams. And then it takes her and turns her, turns my sweet, adorable baby sister into a monster just like it. And then they pull Chrissy out, and she sees Sara and runs to her. And Sara- _God._

"I haven't even seen the girls in nearly a year."

A couple blinks of confusion, and then Dean had to ask. "Why's it been that long?"

Her eyes burned. "My dad thinks I'm wasting my life. He... he doesn't know what we really do. Thinks I bounce around from job to job. I never went to college, never even tried to find what my father would call a 'legitimate career'.

"Melanie, my step-mom, thinks I'm a bad influence on the girls. That I'm the lay about, deadbeat older sister who shouldn't be around her kids."

The basket of fries was pushed across the stained, scratched bar top to Dean, who slid it in front of Gabrielle.

She shook her head, wiped off her face, forcing the tears to stop, and continued. "I know they don't want me around the girls. Hell, they actually sat me down and told me I couldn't see my sisters unless I pulled my life together. But I love them. I would never want to hurt them.

"Chrissy got a cell phone for her birthday. She and Sara try and call me once a month. They've never told Melanie. I mean, they're lying to their mom to communicate with me and let me know how they're doing. I think Dad might know, but so long as I'm not actually hanging around them and corrupting them with my lifestyle and attitude, he doesn't say anything."

She reached out and toyed with a fry, swiveling her head from side to side, as though trying to work out a kink in her neck. Dean didn't think about it: he just reached out a hand and started massaging the back of her neck.

"Y'know, Sammy and my dad never got along," Dean started talking and couldn't seem to stop. "I mean, Dad's whole life was the hunt. And Sammy..." He ran his other hand roughly through his spiky hair. "Sammy wanted a regular life. His biggest goal has always been to be _normal_. And when Sam got a full ride to Stanford, he and Dad had this huge fight. In the end, Sammy left. And Dad just _let_ him."

Gabrielle leaned into Dean's touch, relaxing the slightest bit. Her eyes were closed, and she simply listened, without comment or judgment.

"I didn't know what to do. Our family was screwed all to hell, but it was all I had. I'd never been able to question Dad, or stand up to him the way Sammy could. And I couldn't really be angry at my baby brother for a wanting a safe, normal life. But those two were _my_ whole life."

"How long was it?" Gabrielle asked gently.

"How long-?"

"Before you talked to Sam. Called him, saw him. How long?"

Dean let out a shuddering sigh, eyes squeezing shut and hand clenching around the shot glass. "Two years. Two damn years that seemed like forever. If Sam didn't want Dad in his life, and he always said I was too much like Dad, why would he want me around either?"

A soft hand brushed his cheek, and he looked up to see Gabrielle. She watched him, the same sorrow drawn on her face that he was sure was mirrored on his.

They sat that way for what felt like hours, but was really only minutes, intimately comforted by each other. His fingers rested on her neck, and her palm warmed his cheek.

Finally, at the same moment, they both smiled. They were expressions of understanding and pain, but the smiles reached their eyes.

Then, pulling back, they polished off the fries in a hungry rush.

Dean glanced over at Gabs and winked. "So, does the lady play pool?"

She met his look with mock exasperation. "I'm not really a lady, ask anyone. But I do know how to use a cue stick on something besides a guy's head."

The arrogant smirk was back with a vengeance, as he held out a hand to her. She raised an eyebrow, then her fingers locked with his.

Leading her across the room to the pool tables, he looked back over his shoulder, eyes wide in false alarm. "If you're not a lady, you're still a real chick, right?"

Gabs frowned, squeezing his hand painfully tight. "Watch it, buster."

He laughed, and it was a freeing sound.

Both of them knew by the end of the first game that they were trying to hustle each other, and they silently laughed at themselves.

"Creatures of habit," Dean shrugged.

Gabrielle just nodded. While she racked up the balls for the next game, Dean headed to the bar and ordered a couple beers. Taking them in hand, he turned back and didn't like what he saw.

Several of the men who had been angry when Dean had apparently zeroed in on Gabs were now grouping at her back. They were talking among themselves quietly, predatory glances narrowing on Gabrielle, then Dean, then back again.

He hurried back over, set the beers on the edge of the pool table, and wrapped an arm around Gabrielle's waist. She stiffened for a moment, then leaned into his shoulder, allowing Dean a chance to whisper in her ear.

"How steady are you right now, Gabs? Honestly. 'Cause it looks like the puny gang behind us is gonna try to make trouble."

She closed her eyes, and he could tell she was running an internal check to see how well her thoughts were processing, whether her sense of balance was impaired, and how fast her body would react to the mental commands she gave it. Dean often found himself doing the exact same thing right before the bar fights that seemed to follow him around.

When Gabrielle's eyes came back open, she tilted her head just a bit in answer to his questioning look. He read this as her being a little off her normal condition, but well enough to defend herself if it turned into a free-for-all.

"Hey, pretty boy!" The group finally moved in, circling Dean and Gabs. The hunters instinctively turned to face the speaker, backs firmly pressed against the table.

The men were all locals, judging by their clothing and heavy work boots. And each of them was fairly large, the shortest being 5' 10" and maybe 220 lbs. All their faces wore easy smiles but the tension in the heavy bodies told the truth: these men were looking for trouble.

Dean cocked an eyebrow at the one who had spoken. He wasn't the biggest of the lot, but there was a mean glint in his eyes, and Dean hated the way the dude's gaze kept darting over Gabrielle's body.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" he asked. Dean could be polite. When he felt like it.

"Yeah. You're a stranger in these parts, and we don't like strangers poaching our women."

Gabs huffed and opened her mouth, but Dean's fingers momentarily tightened on her waist, warning her to stay silent.

Dean allowed a loose grin of superiority -one that he knew the men would hate- to spread across his face, then casually said, "Play a round of pool with me. Winner gets the girl."

The leader looked back at his friends, and Gabs took the moment to covertly slam her fist into Dean's back, just above his kidney.

It was a move that hurt the recipient like the devil, but Dean let out a silent, pained hiss and kept right on smiling.

When the man turned to the two again, Dean already knew what the son of a bitch's answer would be. He knew the group had been watching him and Gabs at the pool table; at this point, they must believe Dean thought a lot of himself, but really sucked at the game.

The bastard's expression was toothy and confident. "Sounds like a deal to me."

His men backed off, and Dean planted a little kiss on Gabrielle's jaw bone. "I'll be done in just a minute, baby."

She glared, rolled her eyes, then moved to lean her butt against another pool table. Dean had to admire her forethought. The position made her look tired and angry, but it was actually a perfectly defensible spot and posture.

He winked at her, then grabbed his stick, chalking up the end.

"So, what's your name, friend?" Dean eyed his opponent.

"I'm not your friend, pretty boy," the man spat. "But I'll tell the little lady my name." He nodded to Gabs, who simply raised an eyebrow.

"I'm Ricky, missy. And I am gonna make sure you have a real good time tonight."

She crossed her arms loosely over her chest. "I highly doubt that, jackass."

Ricky's smile twisted down, becoming a fearsome scowl. But Gabs' expression of annoyed disinterest never wavered.

Turning to Dean, Ricky nodded at the table. "I'll play solids. Go ahead, pretty boy. Show us what you're made of."

"My pleasure," the hunter responded, a dangerous shine in his forest green eyes.

He pulled up his stick, aimed, and broke the triangle of colored balls. It took him less then ten minutes to send every last heavy, striped sphere across the green felt, into the cupped holes that edged the table top, and finally drop the eight ball into the left corner pocket, ending the game.

Ricky stared, face bright red with shock at the demonstration, then began to protest, glancing at his friends. He blustered, "Now wait just a minute, you good for nothin'-"

As soon as the other men began to move in, Gabs and Dean both casually reached to the small of their backs and brought out their favorite handguns. The sound of the two hammers being cocked simultaneously left the patrons of the bar in cowed silence.

"Can we go now?" Gabrielle asked in exasperation.

The look Dean directed at Ricky and his friends chilled them to their bones, but his smile for Gabs was simply amused. "Sure, sure."

"Good." She didn't ease down the hammer on the gun or put it away, but let her arm fall to her side, so the muzzle pointed at the floor. Striding over to the bar, she pulled out a fifty and dropped it in front of the bartender. "Keep the change."

Dean nodded to his erstwhile enemies, dropped the pool cue, and, in a friendly voice, said, "The beers are on us."

"On me, you mean," Gabrielle grumbled.

For a moment, Dean let his eyes rove over her. "Nope. If they were, you'd be ready for a wet t-shirt contest."

She didn't even respond, just turned her back to him and left.

As Dean hurried to catch up, the bartender choked out, "Hey, you two! Don't-!"

"We know!" Dean yelled, cutting him off. "We weren't gonna come back anyway! Asshole."

As they tucked away their weapons, and automatically searched the darkness of the town for signs of anything unusual, Gabs glared. "We were supposed to keep a low profile. You cause more trouble than you're worth, Winchester."

"That's why I'm so much fun, sweetheart. Now how about some food?"

She groaned, touching her forehead. "And at least two more beers."

"Sounds like a plan."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

a/n Mwa-ha-ha! Have I sucked you in yet? In this chapter, we should get some interesting texting going on. (NOT INAPPROPRIATE!) "What do you mean?" you ask. You'll see!

It was an hour before Dean and Gabrielle wandered out of an all-night diner, bellies full, and a little worse for wear.

They were both drunk, and their moods were switching back and forth from maudlin, to giggly, to angry at the whole world.

"-and sho that damn Namahage wash a pain in the freagin' ash to kill. I mean, what in the hell wash a Japane-, um... Japane-eshe demon even doin' in Penn-freagin-shylvania?" Gabrielle slurred.

Dean stumbled in to her and wrapped his arms around Gabs to keep himself up. "Eggs-actally what I man, uh, _mean_! America iss grr, uh, grrrr-eat, but we get all the dee-mone, er, demonsss and spi-sp-spiritssss and ssssssshhit from aaaaaaaall over, sins we've gots all sortsa popelsss, er, peopless!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

Then they held on to each other as they laughed like mad men.

"We are sssssshhoooooooooo drank, Winshezder!" Gabrielle giggled.

"Yuups, yup we err, uh, are!" he answered.

Which was when the men they had intimidated earlier rounded a corner and dragged the two into an alley.

"Oooooopppsh."

This exclamation was followed by the noises of gratuitous violence being meted out, several yells, an angry roar, the sound of metal smashing flesh, and finally, after twenty minutes, silence. Then two bruised figures stumbled back out to the sidewalk.

Dean's shirt was ripped, and a black eye was already beginning to bloom. He walked slightly hunched over from the pain in his left side.

Gabrielle was beside him, her top tied in a makeshift knot at the front, since it had been torn completely in two. In addition, she had a nice knife cut that was already scabbing, which extended over her right cheek.

Both seemed far more alert then when they had been dragged down the tiny street. And their hands and shirts were speckled with blood that was not their own.

"Congratulations, Winchester. This has been the perfect ending to such a perfect day," Gabrielle spat sarcastically, still intoxicated enough for the words to come out with more force than necessary.

Dean was grinning. "Are you kidding me? What doesn't cheer a man up like a good fight? Or clear your head like an adrenaline rush?"

"You're insane. And your ribs are probably broken. Why did you jump in front of me like that? They had a goddamn metal baseball bat, idiot!"

"Because you're a girl," he tried to start.

She practically jumped down his throat. "You sexist, chauvinistic pig!"

"Holy crap. All that alcohol can't have worn off that fast, that much I know. Even with all the adrenaline we got. So how the hell are you spouting words like 'chauvin-'... Damn! My tongue's still too twisted to say that." Then he winced and put a hand to his ribcage.

With a groan, Gabs spun and pulled his arm over her shoulder. "You are way too overprotective, you know that?"

The sad smile from earlier in the bar came back. "Yes, Gabs, I know. Dude, I went to hell for my brother. Which means jumping in front of you when some bastard was about to hit a home run on your arm was really not that big a deal."

Shaking her head the whole way, she finally let go as they reached their motel doors. Her eyes were already fluttering, the exhaustion from the events of the day setting in. "Get some sleep, Dean Winchester."

As Gabrielle moved to go, Dean reached out and turned her back to him. She looked up at him, annoyed and confused. Then he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

The kiss was extended, but innocent. Simply mouth touching mouth. A sweet gesture of gratitude and shared compassion.

When Dean finally pulled back, he waited apprehensively for her reaction, hoping she wouldn't punch him. He had enough injuries for one night.

After what seemed like hours of anxious delay, Gabrielle's dark eyes met his deep green ones and that tiny, beautiful smile lit up her face. "Goodnight, Winchester. You're a lovable pain in the ass."

A grin reached his lips, and he nodded. "You too, Gabs. Night."

Then they fumbled out their keys and stepped back into their rooms.

Gabrielle pulled up short for a moment when she realized Lizzy was not asleep. Instead, her little cousin sat cross-legged on one of the beds, facing Sam and playing cards. They both gave her searching looks, and Lizzy gasped when she saw the cut.

"Oh shit, Gabs! What happened? Did you and Dean get in some kind of fight?"

Gabrielle shook her head, and fell face first on the other bed, letting sleep close in and take her away.

Staring at the passed out heap of woman, Sam and Lizzy looked at each other in alarm.

"Shit," Lizzy whispered, quickly gathering up the deck. "I was hoping they would hook up, not try and kill each other."

Sam just nodded. "I'm gonna go back to my room and see if Dean's got in yet."

"Get him to tell you what happened!"

The tall man let out a short laugh. "Lizzy, if he is in anywhere near as bad of shape as Gabrielle, I have a better chance of winning the lottery then getting him to tell me anything right now."

With a roll of blue eyes, she pointed him to the connecting door.

"Night, Liz."

"Night, Sammy."

"Don't call me Sammy!"

A sharp grin was the only response he got.

Pushing through the door, he found his brother also unconscious in the dark room, stretched out over a bed, boots and jacket still on. Sam reached out and gently turned Dean's face, noting the black eye.

If those two had fought, tomorrow was not going to go well.

Pulling off his t-shirt and jeans, Sam collapsed onto his own bed and stared up at the ceiling. A million thoughts were running through his head. But what kept coming back to him were Gabrielle's words from the car ride. _"Do you even realize that your brother defines his own worth by how well he can protect you?"_

Sam rubbed at his eyes. Dean had always been the one who followed Dad's orders, who seemed to love their life as a hunter. But lately... he hadn't been himself. Not the self Sam was used to, anyway. Not the cocky, self-confident bastard who loved teasing his little brother, had an endless string of one night stands, ate and drank like there was no tomorrow, and was excited for the next chance to hunt down something evil.

Sure, some of those things were still there. But it seemed more like Dean was doing them out of habit, then because he was actually interested.

If Dean's self-worth was based on how safe Sam was, how healthy and happy, then they were both screwed.

He knew Dean had been angry at Sam when Sam had been drinking demon blood. But it had never occurred to Sam before that Dean had probably been more angry at himself, thinking he had failed to prepare Sam to be on his own. That he had failed to keep his 'baby brother' safe, even though he'd ended up in Hell trying.

And the shit that had happened in Hell made Dean's self disgust transform into hatred. The only reason Dean was even trying, or going through the motions was for Sam, Bobby and Castiel.

"Shit," Sam whispered, burying his face in his hands. He couldn't keep thinking this way or he'd go crazy.

For nearly an hour, Sam lay awake, trying to fall asleep. But all the thoughts, all the new conclusions brought on insomnia. In desperation, he finally grabbed his cell and started tapping the keys.

**I can't sleep. How about you?**

Sam had sent the message before he realized he might wake Lizzy up. And, if he had to bet, he would put all his money on her being extremely pissed if her beauty sleep was interrupted.

Then his phone beeped. Opening the text, he let out a sigh of relief.

**_me 2. am currently watching godzilla vs. mothra muted. iz on channel 62. check it out!_**

Sam scrunched up his eyebrows in amusement. Only Lizzy. But he followed her advice, switching on the tv and thumbing the mute button so he wouldn't wake up Dean. Turning to channel 62, he found himself staring at one of the worst fight scenes in the history of film.

**_u watching?_** Lizzy texted.

**Yeah.**

**_doesnt it suck ass?_**

**Yeah. So why are we watching this?**

**_i make up lines 4 them. its alot more funny. ;)_**

**You know, you text like a twelve year old.**

**_nope! i txt like a 8 year old! 3 cuz thats how old gabs lil sis chrissy wuz when she taught me!_**

**Ha ha. Now what?**

**_u get 2 pick something for me 2 watch. & then ill tell u what the characters r saying._**

**Okay.**

He flipped through the channels, looking for something interesting. Finally, he stopped on some kind of fashion show, where a bunch of models were being fitted for their clothes.

**Channel 35.**

He waited a minute before she responded. **_u perv! of course u pick the show where women r changing!_**

**Are we gonna do this or not?**

**_fine. 1st model: does this make my butt look big? designer: no sweetie. ur ass iz just huge naturally. 1st model: really? i though i hid it so well! designer: theres only so much even i can hide with only this much fabric._**

**That chick's butt is not that big**

**_haha! nope. but i totally just got u 2 stare some chicks ass!_**

**You are so juvenile.**

**_thanx! ;D ur turn!_**

**What?**

**_come on big boy. ur turn 2 give them some lines._**

**I'm not going to do that.**

**_dont be lame sammy!_**

**Don't call me Sammy.**

**_then just make something up! channel 12._**

Sam picked up the remote and changed it to channel twelve. On screen, there was some kind of old fashioned, black-and-white murder mystery. As the distressed actress opened her mouth in terror, a dark shadow loomed over her.

Then Dracula swooped down and pulled her into his arms.

With a snort, Sam quickly tapped in his reaction.

**Seriously Liz? Watching some ancient Dracula movie while we're hunting a nest of vamps?**

The response was almost immediate. **_if u dont think its funny theres something seriously screwed up w/u. its f-ing hilarious!_**

**You are warped.**

**_well no duh. ok u pick a channel._**

**No.**

**_then i quit txting & ur stuck awake w/o any1 2 talk 2. :)_**

That got a laugh.

**Fine. Give me a minute.**

**_can do!_**

He pulled up the tv guide and saw that an infomercial for steak knives was on.

**Channel 107.**

**_1/2 hahahahahahaha! u rock! we should totally order some 4 xtras in case all the 1s we already have get stolen or broken! thats a gr8 deal 2! 20 knives for only $15! +the random booklite!_**

This was quickly followed by the second half of the text.

**_2/2 what the holy hell iz up w/that anyway? nowadays they always offer something special xtra that has NOTHING 2 do w/what they r actually selling!_**

**Who knows. Maybe they think people will call in just for the book light, if they don't want the knives?**

**_hm. that almost makes sense. oh! i found 1 4 dean! channel 77!_**

Once he turned there, he stared at the flashing images of men with guitars and ratted up hair in confusion. Then the picture changed to a screen that read "The Best of the 80's compilation cd package". Sam started laughing, trying not to be too loud, until he couldn't breathe.

**_dude r u watching it?_**"came the impatient text.

**Yes. And we should buy this for Dean. How many hours is it?**

**_over 45 hrs of the VERY best of 80s rock. u should buy this 2 replace all those tapes._**

**Agreed.**

**_y doesnt he have an ipod?_**

**He thinks that's giving in to THE MAN, who controls the main stream pop culture.**

**_thats so cute! but silly. what else is on?_**

The rest of the night was spent joking and flipping through channels. And all the anxiety that had been building in Sam since his conversation with Gabrielle that morning was swept away in laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

a/n Holy cow, this story is going fast. And they are finally gonna take on some vamps! I think...

The next morning came far too early. But Sam was glad when the light peeked through the curtains.

It was seven a.m. when Lizzy waltzed into the boys' room. Gabrielle followed at a more sedate pace, eyes squinting against the light, one hand massaging her forehead, and the other clutching a cup of coffee. Bringing the styrofoam edge to her lips, she sucked at it as though it held the antidote to a poison that was killing her.

"You ready to hit the road?" Lizzy chirped.

Sam laughed. "Me, sure. But Dean is another story." He pointed over at the other bed, where his brother lay face forward, sprawled halfway off the mattress, still wearing the clothes from the previous night.

"I've tried everything I can think of, but Dean is not getting up."

As Sam and Lizzy considered the stretched out mess that was Dean, Gabrielle stomped past them both. She set down her coffee, then reached out, yanking Dean up by the neck of his jacket and slapping him on the back of the head.

That brought Dean fully awake, and the next thing everyone knew, Dean was holding Gabrielle down on the bed, body over hers, a knife at her throat. The wild panic in his eyes disappeared when he finally recognized his "attacker".

For a long minute, he remained on top of her, smirking. She glared. "If I really wanted to, I could easily get you off me."

"Which suggests you're not opposed to me being on top."

They all heard the click of a gun being cocked. And the muzzle was pointed into Dean's stomach.

"You might wanna move away before I pull the trigger, Winchester."

Instead of immediately backing off, he grinned down at her for a few seconds, then pushed himself up off the bed. He reached out a hand to pull Gabs to her feet, but she shoved it aside, getting to her feet and uncocking the tiny, two shot Derringer, before returning it to the concealed holster in her pocket.

She glared, but her eyes were returning Dean's smile. And she handed him her own cup of coffee.

Dean gave her a grateful little nod, and then took a long swallow. Then his face twisted and he coughed. "Holy crap, woman. How much sugar did you put in here?"

She simply shrugged. As they all stood staring at each other, Dean smugly mocked Gabrielle. "Are you gonna look away so I can get dressed? 'cause if you want the full show, you're gonna have to pay for it."

Gabs simply walked back into the girls' room, slamming the door behind her.

Lizzy and Sam had stood to the side, watching all of this in shock, ready to jump in and get between the older hunters if they decided to kill each other. But the way the two reacted to one another suggested they were friends, rather then two people who they assumed had tried to slaughter one another only the night before.

Matter-of-factly, Dean pulled off his jacket and t-shirt, wiggling his eyebrows at Lizzy, who sighed and walked back to the room she and Gabrielle were sharing, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Sam turned to glare at his big brother, "You shouldn't-" Then he shook his head and sighed. "Just hurry up."

Dean was feeling quite pleased about the whole thing and took another swig of the coffee, before nearly choking. "Way too much sugar, Gabs."

This time when they met up outside, there was no argument over which car to take. The girls slipped into the Shelby, and the boys hopped in the Impala. There was a low, harmonious roar as the two cars started at the same time.

The Shelby led the way, and it only took two minutes for Sam to turn to Dean. "Dude, what the hell happened with you and Gabrielle last night? You both got back totally wasted, and cut up and bruised like you'd been in some kind of fight."

His big brother grinned. "She's awesome, dude."

"Care to give details, Dean?"

"Nah."

Sam pulled out his cellphone and sent Lizzy a text.

**Dean's not telling me anything about last night.**

**_neither iz gabs. she just said deans a better guy then she thought. whats up w/that?_**

**Dean called Gabrielle awesome.**

**_super weird._**

**Agreed.**

Dean cleared his throat and Sam looked up from the phone and over at his brother. When Dean didn't say anything, Sam simply raised an eyebrow. "What? Dude, if you wanna say something, say it."

"What'd you and Lizzy do while Gabs and me were out? Anything fun?" Here, Dean wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Sam shook his head, watching Dean in mild annoyance. "Dude - mind, gutter. Get. It. Out."

"Whatever, man. She totally told me she was gonna give you a try yesterday."

Sam straightened in surprise, "What? What did she say?"

Dean shrugged, "I don't remember exactly, dude, but she said something about getting you to go after her." Glancing sideways at his tall brother, Dean snorted.

Sammy looked like he was trying to cover up excitement, like a puppy with its ears down but a wildly wagging tail.

"Bitch."

"Jerk!"

The traditional exchange finished, Dean cranked up the volume, singing boisterously along to Black Sabbath. The sounds filled the Impala's space, and the boys sunk into a state of calm, almost excited, expectation and preparation. Which lasted until the shining red car ahead of them swerved wildly.

Dean slammed on the brakes, but didn't see the man standing in the road until too late. With a powerful bang, the nose of the Impala hit the man, who went flying forward to crash into the windshield, the force of the hit sending cracks shooting through the glass.

The boys jerked back in shock. "What the hell?"

Jumping out of the car, they rushed to the hood and reached out, carefully dragging the injured guy to the asphalt road.

Sam knelt and surveyed his chest, checked for broken neck or bones, running his hands over the stranger's limbs with the medical expertise that came from having Dean as a brother.

Dean bent down beside Sam, and started pulling off the man's jacket. "Is he okay? Or is he dead? 'Cause that would just seriously suck."

As if he had heard Dean's words, the man's eyes flashed open and, in an unexpected move, shot upright, digging his fingers into Dean's shoulder. His other arm he flung out to strike Sam, who didn't have time to process what was happening. The blow sent the taller brother hurtling six feet back to slam into a tree.

And then the man bared his teeth in a growl, as an entire set of crooked, ripping fangs descended over his gums.

"Oh _shit_," Dean muttered. He struggled, but the vampire grabbed the hunter's neck and began to drag him closer.

Then the vampire's head disappeared and a sheet of dark blood splashed across Dean's chest.

Looking up in shock, he found Gabs watching him from behind the headless body, a heavy machete dripping crimson liquid held loosely in both hands. "Having fun, Winchester?"

The whole set of events had happened in less than a minute. It took only seconds for Dean to pull himself back together, straightening and spinning. "Sammy!"

When his eyes finally found his baby brother, Sam was grimacing as Lizzy stood leaning over him, poking at the cut across his cheek. The skin had been split when the vampire smacked him.

_The vampire_.

Dean turned to Gabs, leveling his famous death glare. His voice was rough with fury. "How did you know he was-"

"A vamp?" Gabs cut in. "I didn't. But this near a nest, I make it a point to always keep a cutting weapon close. It's common sense, Winchester. You know you don't let your guard down while you're on a hunt."

He rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Gabs."

Crouching down beside the body, she ignored him, and began riffling through the vamp's clothes.

A snort, and Dean commented, "And people think _I'm_ a scumbag grave robber with no morals._You're_ the one stealing from a dead guy. I just burn 'em."

"He was already dead, ass. I'm just looking for clues," she responded in an annoyed monotone.

"In his wallet?"

Gabs didn't dignify this with a response, all the while pulling cash out of the newly deceased's wallet. She thumbed through the stack of bills, then tucked them away in her jacket pocket, before going back to searching through the clothes.

Rolling his eyes again, and trying not to laugh, Dean walked back towards the car to grab a different shirt. Until he stopped still, finally seeing the full damage done to the glass on the front window.

Wheeling back around, he pounded over and kicked the corpse a half dozen times.

"Freaking bloodsucker!_You hurt my car!_ You son of a _bitch!_"

When he stepped back, breath unsteady, he pretended Gabs wasn't watching him, waiting for him to stop so she could continue rummaging through the corpse's pockets. His walk back to the Impala was hurried, and when he reached it, he spent several moments just staring.

Stepping closer, Dean brushed his hand softly over the car's roof, and spoke in an adorable, affectionate tone some women would kill to hear from his lips. "I am so sorry, baby. I will fix you up perfectly. I promise. First we've gotta gank the rest of these damn vamps, but then I will give you a full work over. I swear."

Lizzy and Sam watched this in confusion and amusement. They just didn't understand why the harm to a car would practically bring tears to the tough hunter's eyes.

Sure, the two knew how much Dean and Gabs loved their cars. They doted on the vehicles like they were their lovers, or something. But the obsession with a pair of _cars_, even very pretty, classic cars, never made sense to the younger pair.

Shaking her head, Lizzy reached down and attempted to help Sam to his feet. After a series of struggling noises, and a few grunts, Sam stood smiling down at the girl. "Thanks for the help," he teased.

She lightly punched his ribs. "Come on, B.F.G. I've got a bunch of bandaids that say "sexy" with your name on them."

Sam blinked a few times, trying to decide which of her words to respond to, or take offense at. Curiosity won out. "What the hell's a B.F.G.?"

Lizzy stared up in fake shock. "Don't tell me you've never read Roald Dahl."

That got a laugh. "I've never read Roald Dahl."

A huff escaped her pouting lips. "He's a famous children's author! He wrote a book about a Big Friendly Giant. Thus, B.F.G."

Sam cracked up. Whenever Dean called Sam "Sasquatch", or made fun of his height, it bugged him. But something about the little blonde made it possible for her to get away with saying and doing things that would be annoying or inappropriate for anyone else.

"Guys."

They all turned at Gabrielle's quiet call, Sam and Lizzy half-way to the Shelby, Dean bare chested and scrubbing at the blood on his skin with the balled up wad of his original shirt.

Gabrielle still stooped beside the body, held up a keyring, which glinted in the light. "Bus keys."

"How far are we from the nest?" Dean demanded.

Sam looked at his brother, a predatory smile on his face. "Five minutes walking."

"Which means they either dumped the bus nearby," Liz continued, blue eyes wide with anger and hope. "Or they _did_ separate the kids and just brought them all back to the barn."

Gabs stood, brushing off her pants. "We need to burn the body, conceal the cars, split up what's left of the Dead Man's Blood, and scope out the area."

They all nodded.

Gabrielle headed to her car, calling over her shoulder, "And put on a shirt, Winchester. Exhibitionists aren't welcome on this hunt."

Dean responded, "It's just wrong to cover up anything this amazing, Gabs." He gestured smugly at the defined musculature and golden flesh of his torso.

Sam groaned, Lizzy giggled, and Gabrielle walked back over with a gas can and matchbox in hand. Busying herself pouring the gasoline over the cadaver, she didn't even glance at the half-naked Dean. Instead, she dropped a lit match, and the fire burst up, with a loud "fwump" of displaced air. The body had burned down to ashes in minutes.

Dean purposefully pulled on a button-up shirt, leaving it open, and swung into the Impala. "Let's move, kids."

"Finally," Sam and Lizzy muttered at the same time.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

a/n Okay, I lied. They didn't really get to fight any vamps last chapter. But they got to run one over and kill it! That counts! ...right? *awkward cough* But keep reading! I promise a crazy big fight is coming up!

They parked the cars, and as the boys began to move into the woods, Gabs called them back. "Hold on a sec."

Turning, they found her and Lizzy opening the trunk of the Shelby, and pulling up the cover. The wide area was filled with enough weaponry to occupy Poland, along with all the components to create hex bags and protective hoodoo, voodoo and mojo of every flavor. Plus, something that Dean identified as (_Holy shit._) a nuclear grade, handheld rocket launcher. There was far more space in the back then the boys were expecting.

"What the crap?" Dean was drawn back to the vehicle like a moth to a flame. "I thought these things had, like, no trunk space."

Gabrielle grinned. "Normally, they don't. But I made a few changes when I fixed her up. One of them was extending the trunk so that it goes all the way under the rear seats."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that. Don't Shelby Mustang Cobras normally not _have _back seats?"

She answered with a shrug. "I modified that too, so that Lizzy, me and Aunt Kim could all ride in one car, if we needed to. It's not as spacious as the Impala, but there's enough room."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Woman, you gotta quit giving me more reasons to ask you to marry me again. And this counts."

Gabrielle didn't respond just turned back to the armory in the car. She and Lizzy pulled out several guns, and held out one to each of the guys.

Sam stared in confusion. "You two do know that guns don't hurt vamps, right?"

"Yeah. They just piss 'em off," Dean added.

Lizzy pulled out an extra clip for each gun, and Gabs smiled, a cruel light in her eyes. "These ones will."

"How?"

"We make our own rounds and figured out a way to put some liquid in them," Lizzy responded, far more calm and focused now that the hunt had officially started. "And these ones are filled up with Dead Man's Blood."

In shocked awe, Dean and Sam checked the reloads, and found Lizzy's words to be true.

"How the hell did you come up with that idea?" Dean asked, holstering the gun and carefully tucking the extra clip in his back pocket.

The boys watched with bewildered amazement as a blush spread over Gabrielle's cheeks. She looked embarrassed, and turned her back to them, searching through the many items stuffed in the car's trunk to avoid their eyes.

Turning to Lizzy, they sent her the exact same questioning squint. She chortled, "Gabs hates explaining it. We got the idea from _Underworld_."

"The vampire flick with Kate Beckinsale?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "That _would_ be all you remember about that movie, Dean."

His big brother just smirked, unapologetic. "Dude, hot chick who is totally stacked, running around with guns, while wearing skin tight leather? That was the only reason to watch that stupid movie, Sammy."

Lizzy snorted, and their attention went back to her. "Yeah, well, there's this point where one of the vampire mercenaries finds a way to put liquid silver nitro in rounds. And we figured, what the hell, why not? Sure, it's a total Hollywood thing, but if anyone could figure out how to make it work for real, it was us."

Dean was thoroughly impressed, but Sam frowned, considering. "I've gotta admit, this is a great weapon. But do you really run into enough vampires to make it worth all that time and effort. These things can't be easy to make, even now that you've got it all fixed up."

Gabs finally looked back up, a heavy, crescent blade in hand. "We didn't make them for vamps."

"Huh?"

"It's the friggin' Apocalypse, boyos," Lizzy responded, strapping on what appeared to be a pair of sharpened hedge clippers, and what looked like a garrote.

"So?"

Gabs' answer was succinct. "Demons."

While Dean and Sam tried to make sense of that, and the girls packed on and secured more weapons, Lizzy explained in detail. "We've got a ton of rounds filled with holy water. Holy _salt_ water. From the Dead Sea. You think it hurts them when you splash the stuff on 'em? Picture a demon being shot with a bullet loaded with blessed water from an ancient holy place. The holy water gets in their bloodstream. Very distracting for them, and it makes exorcisms a hell of a lot easier for us."

"And it was a pain in the ass to make the damn things in the first place, let alone figure out how to switch out the holy water for the Dead Man's Blood without compromising the bullets. So make every shot count, 'cause this is all you're getting," Gabs added, zipping up her jacket and pulling on studded biker gloves. The outfit wasn't armor, but it would still slow down any cut she took, and lessen any hit, without hampering her movement.

"Got it. And now that the secret weapons have been handed out, should we get to the job?" Dean spoke, somehow joking and serious all at once.

As he turned to lead, Sam called, "Dean!" When he pivoted back, his leather jacket was chucked at him by his baby brother.

They both knew the classic Winchester truth: it wasn't really a hunt unless Dean started out wearing his scuffed, worn in, brown jacket, and ended up with it scratched, ripped, or covered in the bodily fluids of something evil that they'd made dead.

They began trekking through the twisted forest. Within five minutes, Dean, who had taken point, paused and held up a hand.

Recognizing the signal, the others stopped where they were and hunkered down, guns held at the ready. Dean stalked over to join them, gaze darting to watch the surrounding area.

"What's up?" Sam asked quietly.

"The barn's up ahead. And the bus is parked out back."

"That's good."

Dean nodded shortly, but the green eyes that met Gabrielle's dark ones held a hint of uneasiness. Brow furrowing, she tried to figure out what about the set up was making Dean's instincts twitch. Then her eyes widened and she frowned.

"Why the hell was that vamp walking around, in the middle of the goddamn road, during the goddamn day, with the keys to the goddamn missing bus conveniently tucked into his pocket?"

It struck them all at once, and four voices intoned, "Trap."

Gabs clenched her jaw. "Shit. They must have heard about what happened in the bar and put two and two together."

Dean nodded, royally pissed at himself. "Probably. Damn it all to hell."

Normally nice brown eyes now completely, furiously serious, Sam's hard stare rested on his brother. "What happened at the bar, Dean?"

"Nothing!" he and Gabrielle automatically denied at the same time. Then they shared a guilty look and shrugged.

"Okay, so we might've hustled this one jackass," Dean started.

Gabs followed this up with a snort. "And he and his hick buddies might have tried to start a fight."

"And maybe we drew on them to get out alive."

"And it's possible they jumped us a little later, and we kicked their asses and sent them crying home-"

"While we were drunker then skunks."

Sam groaned softly, and Lizzy reached out and slapped Gabs' arm with all the force she could muster. The two began talking over each other, both berating their partner.

"And you always say _I'm_ the one who shouldn't be let out without a chaperone?"

"They've run into hunters before, Dean! We know that, which means they know the damn signs!"

"You seriously hustled some stupid townie with his friends watching?"

"We have plenty of money from the last town, man! We sure as hell didn't need any more!"

"And you pulled out a goddamn _gun?_ In a crowded bar full of gossipy locals, no less!"

"It's no wonder they went after you idiots! And I'm not saying you should've rolled over and played dead when they came after you, but to totally kick their asses while trashed-!"

"Those poor kids are probably in even bigger danger now, even more terrified, thanks to you two!"

"What the hell were you thinking, Dean?"

"We weren't!" came the angry, ashamed response.

Which was when three people, two females and one male, dropped from the surrounding trees to encircle the group.

They looked like the castoffs of a biker crew, with their faded leather outfits and tangled hair. The women were pretty underneath the dirt, while the guy had a face full of beard, like some kind of mountain man. And each of their lips were curled back to reveal the expected fangs.

The hunters' reaction rivaled the sudden appearance of the vamp trio. The four had barely registered the movement before spinning to face out, pulling together so their backs formed a tight square. The weapons were up and aimed at the vampires before the freaks could growl.

The sight of the guns made the creatures laugh. With a sadistic, amused smile, one of the females stepped forward.

Peering more closely at her, Dean realized she was the type he would normally consider a hottie. A regular chick with that same nice figure and face, long blonde hair, and who would fit just under his chin, he would have nailed in a second. But he drew the line at sleeping with dead things. And the veins peeking through her pale skin, and the feral bloodshot eyes were simply a reminder that this chick was a bloodsucking, kid-stealing corpse.

"Where are the kids?" Gabrielle demanded, voice uncompromisingly harsh.

The woman just snickered. "Stupid humans. Only amateurs would bring _guns_." The derision in her tone made the righteous fury rise in all of them. She continued mocking, "After all, they can't hurt us."

Dean watched his malicious grin knock them off balance. Pulling the trigger, he growled out, "These ones can, bitch."

It hit her square in the chest. Dean heard the other guns fire and knew the two remaining vamps had been hit, but he never looked away from the vamp speaker.

Glancing down at the hole between her collarbones, she hissed, "You're gonna pay for that, you bastard." Looking back up, a confident, fangy smile lit her face. Then the expression flickered. A shaking hand reached up slowly to touch the wound, while those condescending eyes paled with astonishment.

Staring at Dean, feeling the unnatural strength of her limbs withering into the vulnerability of weakness, she stuttered, "Wh-what d-d-did you d-do?"

The hunter's handsome face twisted into an animalistic sneer, similar to the one the female had worn only moments before. "I've got some hot, genius friends who made these bullets specifically for you and your family, sweetheart. Chock full of Dead Man's Blood."

Bafflement turned to terror, as she sank limply to the ground and passed out.

Finally turning to look over at his brother and the girls, Dean felt a sharp jolt of glee at the sight of two downed, headless vampires just waiting to be torched. He pulled his own machete off his back, feeling the comfortable weight and heft in his hand. Looking down at his own vamp, Dean knew exactly what it would feel like to carve through the flesh, muscle and bone of the evil thing's neck, before the blade would bite into the dirt, staining the ground red.

He raised the razor-edged tool, intent on discontinuing the female's existence, but a strong hand caught his wrist. Whirling around, the gun was in his hand and aimed at Gabrielle before he could think. It was all instinct.

She didn't release his arm, reaching over with her free hand to push the gun's hammer back in place. "We need her alive if we wanna find the kids."

"Bitch called me an amateur," Dean protested, eyes wide and sad, lips in a pout.

The corner of Gabs' mouth twitched up. "Sorry, but that look works better for Sam. You just can't pull it off."

Shrugging, Dean slid forward and planted a fast, steamy kiss on Gabrielle's lips. After the moment of surprise passed, she thrust him away and wiped off her mouth with one hand, drawing her own gun with the other in a lightning fast move. She pointed it straight at Dean's forehead, rage shining in her eyes.

He shrugged confidently again. "Sure, Sammy can do the puppy dog thing better. But I'm the better kisser. Just felt like I should prove it to you."

An eyebrow went up, and her words were spiteful. "Then I suppose that means I need to find out. Should I go kiss Sam?"

Now it was Dean's turn to glare. "Don't even think about it, Gabs. You are way too much woman for that poor kid. You'd probably chew him up and spit him out, completely destroyed, without breaking a sweat."

"Then _do. Not. Kiss. Me. Again._ Got it, Winchester?"

He nodded, an cocky smile on his face. If he really wanted to, he could have her begging. But he decided to go easy on her for now. Maybe after the hunt was over.

As though she could hear every though going through his head, Gabs sent him a look that would make normal men cry. Then she reached down, tangling her fingers in the blonde vampire's hair, and began dragging her toward the barn.

Sam and Lizzy looked up from the little bonfire they'd made of the two corpses. They were already on their way to being just another smudge on the forest floor, and the younger hunters were feeling a sense of accomplishment at the blaze. But now they watched Gabs continue casually toward the building.

"Gabrielle, where are you going?"

She didn't even look back as she called, "I'm gonna go jack a stolen school bus."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

a/n I just really wanted them to steal the bus. I didn't expect it to turn into this...

Edging carefully forward, covering Gab's back, the other three hunters found themselves coming closer and closer to the barn they they knew the nest had been living in.

"So, why are we doing this, Gabs?" her cousin asked offhandedly, all the while cautiously scanning the terrain.

Gabrielle tramped forward with a confidence none of the others felt. One hand held a machete, the other digging into the poisoned vamp's hair, dragging the monster behind her over the dirt. The trail this left worried the boys, while Lizzy watched the marks appear in annoyance.

She'd forgotten that Gabs got like this sometime.

"If this was all set up as a trap, they will have relocated," Gabs answered shortly.

Sam snapped, "You can't be sure of that!"

"No, I can't," Gabrielle replied. "But, strategically, it makes sense to move away from the trap. That way, even if we killed the members of their group that they left behind to deal with us, they would still have the kids. They'd still have a bunch of little, walking blood banks, or future members of their pack."

Here, she look over her shoulder and met their doubtful looks. "Just think about it, guys. They would move the kids, and the rest of the vamps would stay with them. That's gotta be why the vamp on the road had the keys. He was the driver, and they carted everyone away in the bus, then he came back to help the other three kill us."

Dean found himself nodding. When he noticed, Sam sent his older brother an unhappy this-is-not-a-good-idea-Dean bitchface, and Dean spoke up. "She's right, dude. It makes a hell of a lot of sense. The sons of bitches may be evil, but that doesn't mean they're idiots."

"Can we at least move in a little more cautiously?" the taller brother reasoned, frowning, eyes earnest.

Gabrielle chuckled, and dropped the vamp long enough to point from Sam to Dean. "See. He can actually pull off the 'pity me and listen to me, 'cause I'm just an adorably big puppy who wants what's best for everyone' look. You couldn't pull it off on your best day."

Dean's egotistical smirk came before his answer. "That's a hell of a long name for a look. And are you trying to get me to prove what I'm good at again?"

She flipped him off, then leaned down and dug her fingers into the collar of the female's coat. "Let's get moving. We need to find that damn nest before we lose the light."

Shaking his head, Dean followed at a regular pace in his normal, slightly bowlegged stride.

Lizzy and Sam exchanged another exasperated glance, then followed the older hunters.

Dean jumped ahead, in front of Gabs, and reached to push open the barn doors.

"Dean." The single word stopped Dean in his tracks, and he knew exactly what Sam was thinking. If Gabrielle was right, they were in no danger. But if she was wrong, they were most likely walking straight into a trap that would get them all killed. His eyes tracked to Lizzy, then back to Gabrielle.

She nodded, and motioned Sam and Dean forward. "Go for it."

They shared a quick, silent conversation in looks and nods, then moved into position, Sam reaching to push open the door, and Dean with his gun up and ready for anything. Lizzy moved in to back them up, the sharply honed hedge clippers held steadily.

"Count of three," Dean ordered. The other two nodded. "One. Two. Three!"

Throwing the doors open, they charged in, weapons up and sweeping the open space.

The place was silent and empty. More then a dozen hammocks hung from the rafters, and what was once a cattle stall had been turned into two cages. One for the newly turned, one for the meals they would bring home and keep.

In the second enclosure was a small pile of adult bodies. Rushing in, Sam knelt in the dirt and checked for a pulse on each one.

His shoulders slumped, and he looked back at Dean and shook his head. "They're all drained."

"Dammit."

The quiet shuffling from the doorway drew their attention, and Gabs was scowling around at the dirty, empty building. Her eyes fell on Sam and she shrugged. "I was hoping I'd be wrong. That they'd still be here. Then this would all be over."

Sam stood and brushed off his pants. "But you were right, and they're not here. So where would they be?"

"How about we ask our new friend?" She threw the vampire she had been lugging along with her into view.

The vampire's eyes flashed in the darkened expanse, and there was fear in her jumbled gaze.

"But first, let's burn this hellhole to the ground," Lizzy snapped. "I'll go grab accelerant and a lighter."

Dean and Sam shrugged at each other, then Sam followed the smaller girl out. Dean walked over to Gabrielle and sighed. "How are we gonna play this?"

"Wanna ride shotgun?"

"Eh?"

Gabs grabbed the vamp again, heaved her to her feet, and marched back outside. With a roll of his eyes, Dean followed. He still wasn't sure how much Gabs' planned ahead, and how much she made up as she went. But, so long as she got the kids out safe, he didn't care how it happened.

In the end, as the barn burned brightly behind them, Lizzy drove the Shelby, Sam was behind the wheel of the Impala, and Gabs steered the bus. Dean stood beside her, rocking back and forth with the movement of the vehicle. His eyes scanned the scanned the rows of seats and he remembered the few, rare times he had been inside one before. Dad had always dropped them off at a hotel close enough to the school that the Winchester brothers could walk. Really the only time they'd been in district buses were on field trips. And the only reason for Dean to ever go on those and not just skip out, was that Sam had always been a first class geek who actually _enjoyed_ going to museums and planetariums and shit.

His attention finally fell on their captive. He knew what would come next. And if the way Gabs was reacting to things was any indication, it wouldn't be pretty.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, Dean mused, "Whadya think we should we call the bitch?"

The beautiful girl's answer was concise and sober. "Dead."

Dean chuckled, "Besides that."

"Dead Bitch?" Gabrielle responded, peering over her shoulder, irritation in her eyes.

"Dead Bitch One, I think," Dean answered. Then nodded, "Yeah, that'll work."

She replied with a surprised, amused snort and a disbelieving shake of the head.

Then she pulled the bus to the side of the road and out of view of the highway. "Let's have a little talk with our fangy friend."

Dean grinned and pulled out his phone, calling first Sam, then Lizzy, letting them know.

Gabrielle parked the bus and stood, walking down the aisle to capture the vamp's arm. "Come on. Let's go."

Groggy and disoriented, the female stared up at Gabs. "Wha-?"

"We're going to have a nice, friendly discussion. Now, wake up." When the woman didn't respond, Gabs smacked her, and the resounding slap made Dean flinch.

And the vampire snarled and tried to claw at Gabrielle's face. She quickly caught the hand aimed at her and snapped it. A high, keening noise came from the monster's throat at the unexpected pain.

"What the hell?" Sam rushed up the steps and into the vehicle, staring at Gabs and Dean in alarm, then down at the vamp. "What happened?"

They both shrugged.

Then Lizzy came in and raised a bag, holding it out for her cousin. "For you, Gabs."

Gabrielle said nothing, just took the bag and began pulling out the items inside.

There was a series of needles, in varying sizes, several bags of Dead Man's Blood, small pouches labeled "gunpowder", a tiny bottle of lighter fluid, and a box of matches. Then she turned back to the vampire. "You are going to tell us every damn thing you know. Where are the children? Has your pack turned any of them? Are they still alive?"

The female shook her head. "Why the hell would I tell you damn hunters anything?"

With a kind, unruffled tone, Gabs threatened the vamp. "You'll tell us, so we'll play nice and cut off you head _before_ we light you on fire."

The monster growled, baring her sharp teeth.

"Fine." Gabs raised an eyebrow at Lizzy, who moved forward and handed her a small carving knife, the gunpowder and the matchbox. Setting down the other objects, Gabrielle took the knife in hand and pulled out the vampire's arm. "Have you ever had a fire lit _under_ your skin? I have. It felt like my blood was burning with my flesh. Not much fun." As the words came out, softly and carelessly, Gabrielle placed the blade against the female's arm and sliced off a piece of the epidermis the size of a quarter. Ignoring the angry, pained noises this produced, Gabs' picked up the gritty, grey powder and sprinkled it over the exposed, bloody portion of arm. Then she reached for a match. Striking it against her leg, the small flame of pale yellow and blue flared up, and the closer it came to the open wound, the more it appeared to writhe, like it had a will of its own.

The vampire's eyes were wide, and there was terror in them. She wriggled and wrenched at her limb, trying to pull it away from the approaching blaze. Dean jumped forward and held her tight.

Struggling, she hissed, then cried, begged, and threatened. But Gabrielle never stopped moving forward. Finally, the match touched the powder and burst up, eating into the muscle of the arm. She screeched like an owl, and screamed, "I'll tell! _I'll tell!_"

As if that was all she had been waiting for, Lizzy aimed a different squeeze bottle at the tiny fire and let the deluge of water put it out.

Reaching out, Dean caught the chick's jugular and lifted her up, choking her. "_Where are they?_"

He dropped her, and she stared up in horror at the four hunters, all with eyes darkened by rage at the thought of the children. "Th-they, they moved the kids."

Now it was Sam who leaned forward and had to stop himself from shaking her. "_Where?_"

"An empty, abandoned factory!" she squealed. "At the south edge of Perette!"

They all stared down at her as she trembled and cried, curling her body around the burnt arm. Finally, a nod passed through the group.

"We'll take the Impala," Sam gestured to himself and Lizzy. "Meet you there?"

"Yeah," Dean answered, quiet and angry.

Then they all turned back to the vamp as she let out another cry. "What the hell are you _doing?_"

Gabs lifted her by her hair, and threw the female into one of the seats. "You're coming with us. If your pack manages to get out of this alive, they'll consider you a traitor. And if they aren't where you say, I'm going to roast you one inch at a time."

"You bitch! You said-!"

Lifting her hand, Gabs balled it into a heavy fist, and struck the vamp with enough force to knock the creature out cold. "I lied."

There was momentary silence, then Lizzy demanded, "Gabs, what the hell?"

When the taller girl turned, there were hot tears in her eyes, and her mouth was twisted down. "No more kids are getting hurt or killed tonight, so help me God."

They didn't like how volatile Gabs was, but both her cousin and the brothers understood. She wanted those children safe.

Sam tilted his head and sighed. "Come on, Liz. Sooner we get there, sooner this is over." Looking to the older hunters he let a small grin slip onto his face. "We'll go ahead. The Impala moves a lot faster then this boat."

Lizzy agreed, "We'll scout it out and let you know how the place looks. Okay?"

Dean and Gabs nodded.

The classic black car was already gone by the time Dean finally maneuvered the school bus back onto the road. "How the hell were you driving this?" he demanded of Gabrielle, exasperated.

She chuckled. "There was this one shapeshifter who had a hero complex and was obsessed with buses. It was killing off bus drivers and taking their places, then crashing the bus, saving the kids, and heading on to another town.

"We figured out the pattern, and were able to pinpoint where it would probably go next. So I applied for a job driving a bus for the school district. It took me a couple days to get the hang of it. But, in the end, it was a piece of cake."

"And the shapeshifter?"

A low laugh met his question. "Oh, we shot it with silver, dismembered it, and buried it six feet down, just to be sure it wasn't coming back."

Dean grimaced. "Well that's overkill, if I ever saw it."

"Overtime, too. Bus drivers get paid shit. I'm telling you, they are not in it for the employment benefits."

"I believe ya." Then Dean swerved wildly, and the bus tilted up on to two wheels, before falling back to the ground with a crash. "Shit!" Dean pounded the steering wheel. "These things suck ass! You okay, Gabs?"

"Dean!"

When he turned around to check on his temporary partner, he felt fear and outrage rise in him.

The unconscious vamp bitch wasn't unconscious anymore. Somehow, she had managed to grab Gabs, who had her back pressed tightly to the vampire's front. The bloodsucker had one hand wrapped in Gabrielle's long, black hair, and the other held-

"Gabs, she seriously managed to grab your gun?" he asked in disbelief.

The tall woman glared, hands held open and out to either side, as the vamp pushed the barrel of the Ruger SR 9 into Gabrielle's chest, aiming the gun directly at her heart.

The chance for revenge turned the creature's eyes black, and she scoffed, "These bullets may be made for my kind, but I'm betting they can still kill you humans. Now, park the bus and move away from the driver's seat, sweetheart."

Dean did as he was ordered, raising his hands as he stepped away from the wheel and began moving down the aisle.

"Stop!" she shouted. "Don't come any closer!"

He froze, but his eyes were fixed with a burning intensity on the pair. "Don't you dare hurt her, or I swear I'll rip you apart."

"Aw, how sweet," the vamp taunted. "A human with a sense of pack. Is this pretty girl your mate?"

Not waiting for an answer, Gabs' hair was jerked hard, and the side of her neck lay exposed. The monster leaned close and slid her nose along the bare skin, sniffling and smelling like some kind of animal. "She smells good. I bet she must be yummy. So tell me, _Dean_, what does she taste like?"

Dean just continued to glare, mouth pursed tight.

"Come on, lover boy," she jeered. "Better tell me quick, or I'll just have to find out for myself. That bullet you hit me with, and all those pyrotechnics she pulled made me hungry. What's it gonna be?" As the silence stretched, the girl peeled back her lips, and the second set of teeth slid down from her gums. She let the sharp points brush the veins of Gabs' neck, and smiled.

That pleased expression scared Dean, and he yelled out, "Wait! Just... just wait a second, okay? Her and me, we're not like that. We're just friends. Colleagues, y'know? Same line of work, and all that shit."

Those black eyes travelled up and down Dean with the type of measuring look he normally got from girls in bars. "I don't believe you."

Dean slowly inched forward, shrugging, and trying out his friendly, let's-not-do-anything-rash grin. "No, really. It's just never been the right time. I mean, me and my brother have been trying to stop the Apocalypse, and Gabs here only just got out of a serious relationship. With my brother."

He watched the vampire blink a few times in astonishment, as he edged stealthily closer.

They both jumped when Gabs responded, tone loud and pissed. "_Who told you that?_ I _never_ told you that! Sam and I weren't like that!"

Dean forced down the grin. "Then why the hell'd you turn me down, huh, babe?"

"You started the freaking _Apocalypse_, Dean! That's kind of a sticking point with me!"

"Dammit, Gabby, that wasn't my fault! That was all Sammy! But he's still got you wrapped around his friggin' finger!"

"He's a better man then you! At least he didn't sleep with my _best friend!_ Lizzy's my goddamn partner, you son of a bitch!"

"She's feisty! And you're a cold tease! What does it even matter? It's not like you're blood relatives! Unlike me and Sam! He's my _brother_, Gabby!"

"And even knowing that, you still went after me! Yeah, you're a great brother, Dean, just awesome! You know, some siblings would sell their souls for their family! But you can't even let him be happy with me! He told me all that bullshit you laid out on him!"

"It's the truth! I've wanted you since the first time we met! He didn't even look at you until the time with that damn witch! I'm still not convinced this obsession you two have for each other isn't some kind of spell!"

"YOU ARE AN ASS!"

Which was when Dean finally came near enough to dive forward and wrestle the vamp for the gun. As the two grappled back and forth, throwing each other around the confines of the bus, Gabs ducked away, and ripped something out of a pouch on her belt.

The vamp and Dean flipped end over end, and finally stopped, with her on top of him, hands at his throat, crushing hard enough to cut off all the air that needed to get to Dean's lungs.

There were several moments were he tried to buck the bitch off, desperately scratching at the hands around his windpipe, and then spots began dancing before his eyes, and all the strength went out of him. He feebly plucked at the fingers digging into his neck, and then couldn't even do that, as the world tilted and went dark at the edges.

Then the woman went rigid, and her weight was torn off his torso. Choking, coughing, gasping, he lay flat on his back as his body remembered how to breathe again. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked around.

Gabrielle stood over the knocked out vamp, a small syringe in her hand, face set in a hard mask.

"What... the hell?" Dean panted.

She held up the needle. "Dead Man's Blood. Lizzy forgot to pack this one up with all the others, when she took the bag of torture materials back to the Shelby. I stuck it in my pocket."

"Well, thank... God... for that," came the tired wheeze. Slowly, he sat up, rubbing his sore throat. "Bitch had a helluva grip."

Gabs kicked the vampire in the side, hard enough to crack ribs, then came over to Dean, pulling him up and slinging his arm across her shoulders. "Well, this is familiar."

"Whadya mean?"

A slim smile curved her lips. "You and me, wandering out of an alley, a little worse for wear, still mostly drunk?"

"Oh yeah!"

She rolled her eyes, then pushed him down onto a seat. "Lemme see your neck."

He tried to brush her off. "I'm fine, woman. Don't fuss."

Gabrielle pulled away, smacked him on the back of the head (which got an "Ow! Bitch!" out of him), then leaned in to stare right into his eyes. "You let me look at your goddamn neck, or I call your brother and tell him you're obsessed with soap operas."

"_What?_"

"Oh, come on, Winchester. I just got out of relationship with your brother, and you're trying to screw me, while blowing off my partner, who you probably slept with just to mess with my head? I'm pretty sure you just ripped off the lot from a couple episodes of _Days of Our Lives_." She shook her head in mock grief, "I never took you for the type, Winchester."

He glowered, but didn't respond. Finally, he raised his head so she could see the bruises on his throat.

Wrapping her fingers around his chin, she tilted his face from side to side, and softly touched the red marks which would be brilliant purples and blues by the next day. Finally, she sighed. "Not much I can do for you. She didn't break the skin, just squeezed tight enough to damage the muscles. You'll be fine, though."

He coughed again. "Glad to hear it. Now, can we deal with the damn bitch already?"

She came up off her knees, and pulled him to his feet. Freeing the machete on her belt, Gabs held it out to him. "You wanna-?"

"Don't mind if I do." Dean took the weapon firmly in hand, then brought it high and it sliced down through the air. With a sound like two dogs ripping apart a bone, the head split from the body and rolled away, leaving a splatter of dark blood to stain the floor of the bus.

Gabs picked up the head and tossed it out a window, then she grabbed the arms, Dean caught the legs, and they carried the body to the steps. Dropping it, Gabs reached out and pulled the lever so the door folded open. Then Dean put his foot on the corpse's back and pushed, and the body rolled out of the vehicle. Dusting off his hands, he turned back to Gabrielle, who glared at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"If you _ever_ call me Gabby again, I'll-"

"Cut off my balls and feed 'em to a werewolf or something, right?"

"Right."

He grinned and pushed past her, falling back into the driver's seat. Then Dean's phone started playing _Back in Black_. He flipped it open and put it on speaker. "Hey, Sammy. What's up?"

Sam leaned closer to his phone and answered, quiet and subdued, "That dead chick isn't lying."

"Yeah?" he heard Dean ask, voice entertained and distant. "Why do ya say that?"

"Listen, Dean-" Sam tried to speak. Then he was struck, and the phone was pulled away.

The leader of the vampire pack didn't even look at his captives as he spoke to Dean, hushed, and full of subtle rage. "You and the other woman are hunting my family. This will not be tolerated. I have taken your partners. Come to the place the traitor gave you. What you do with her, I no longer care. You will enter unarmed, or the two I have seized will be part of our family before this night is through."

Sam could hear Dean, the fury radiating through the phone. "You son of a bitch! You touch a hair on his head-!"

Lizzy and Sam shot up as they heard Gabs speak. "Dean, we need to do what he says!"

"Freaking bitch, get the hell offa me!"

The vampire leader, the two younger hunters, and the pack listened to the struggle that erupted over the phone. There was yelling, and what sounded like the cell being dropped and kicked around. Finally, a foreboding silence. Then Gabrielle's voice spoke into the phone, breathless and despairing. "We'll be there."

The old one hung up and pivoted, walking slowly back over to the kneeling and bound hunters. His words were chilling. "Pray that they do as she has said, murderers."

Sam couldn't let that pass, opening his mouth, not even sure what he was about to say, only that it would make the vampires furious.

As if she knew exactly what he was planning, Lizzy reached out and threaded her fingers through Sam's much larger ones. She caught his eye and shook her head.

Slowly, the wrath faded from his eyes, to be replaced by resolve. He mouthed, _Dean will have a plan._

The small girl smiled at the giant hunter and responded silently, _So will Gabs._

Taking deep breaths, they looked away, eyes scanning the forms gathered in the darkness, and shoved the fears and doubts out of their minds.

Dean and Gabrielle were coming for them.

They were literally betting their lives on it.

a/n Yeah, so I lost patience and am just posting this and the next four chapters all today. Hope it wraps up in a way you can love!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

a/n So, this is the fight scene, and I wrote it, but I still don't have much confidence in it. Sorry if it's not all you could wish. And yes, this chapter is kinda painful at the end. That's just sorta the way it worked out.

Sam and Lizzy were forced to their feet, then marched to the wall. Dropping down, they sat side-by-side, arms tied behind them.

Sam stared longingly at the pile of weapons the vamps had taken off them when they were captured. With enough time, even one tiny, little blade would be enough to saw through the rope at their wrists. With a sigh, he looked over at Lizzy.

The expression on her face was one of focused intent. Sam watched in confusion as she shifted until she was on her knees. Hope finally made an appearance as she picked at the heel of her left boot. After a few moments, a large piece of the wedge came loose, and she cautiously slipped out a small, serviceable, triangular throwing blade.

Her eyes met Sam's and she smiled, then mouthed, _Don't cut all the way through_.

He blinked a yes and scooted closer, carefully lifting their key to freedom from her fingers. Feeling down her arm with his other hand, he found the rope and began moving the sharp edge back and forth over Lizzy's bonds.

When he was confident a good tug would be all it would take to break the rope, he passed the blade to Lizzy, taking over guard duty. Luckily, the vamps seemed confident, and the single one assigned to watch them had knocked back several beers in a row. It felt like forever, but Lizzy finally finished, and covertly slipped the knife back into the hidden compartment of her shoe. Then they waited.

While it was true that they were practically free, the only way they could reach the weapons without getting their throats torn out first was if some kind of distraction occurred. And they had to hope Dean and Gabs had come up with one.

Nearly forty minutes later, every head in the room shot up as the rusty rattling of a school bus came closer. They all heard the vehicle stop, before the engine was shut off. There were a few moments where they heard nothing, and then someone was hurrying toward the building, and there was an odd dragging noise.

The vamp leader nodded to a few of his pack, and they rushed forward and slowly pulled the heavy double doors open.

When the vampires started chuckling, momentary panic shot through the hunters. Their guard stood, forcing them to their feet and hustling them away from the wall.

The small blonde and the giant brunette knew they should be focusing on the fact that their weapons were on the ground, only feet from where they now stood. But all their attention was aimed at the figure walking quickly into the building, and the limp body they pulled, scraping over the dirt behind them.

In an instant, they both saw the one standing, bruised and battered, half-pulled up hair a mess, was Gabrielle. And the unconscious man on the floor was-

"DEAN!"

Sam lunged forward, struggling against the bone-crushing grip the vampire had on his arm. It was only when the hold tightened enough to cut through the red wash of anger and betrayal blinding Sam, that he stopped fighting. He shouted at Gabrielle, "You backstabbing _bitch!_"

Her dark eyes were sad and ashamed. "Elizabeth's my partner, Sam. What the hell was I supposed to do?"

"Come up with a plan!" he yelled. The pinch on his arm made him wince, but he kept talking. "You were supposed to work together to get us out of this! Not knock out your only ally, walk in, and give yourself up! _None_ of us is getting out alive, now. You know that!"

The lovely hunter stared at her feet, then focused on the pack leader. "Please. Let my partner go."

"You will not beg for the man's life as well?" he waved a hand at Sam, old eyes amused.

She swallowed hard, then shook her head. "Sam and Dean... they're good guys, good hunters. And I'm sorry to do this to them. But the only thing that matters is my partner. Let her go."

"That sounded like an order."

"No!" Gabs protested, fear rising in her voice. She took a deep, calming breath. "No. I want to make a deal."

"Deals are for demons," the vampire responded. But he seemed interested.

"Elizabeth gets to leave, safe, unharmed and still human. In exchange, you get the Winchester brothers." Gabrielle jerked on the collar of Dean's jacket and stared at Sam.

The leader literally took a step back, and a horrible expression of surprised glee curled over his face. "These boys, they are the Winchesters?"

Gabs bit her lip hard, then confirmed her words. "Yes, they are."

"_You bitch!_" Sam howled again, and received a hard cuff on the ear that knocked him to one knee. Lizzy's tiny whimper echoed through the room, and Gabrielle's eyes went wide, fingers clenching convulsively on Dean's clothes.

"_Please_. You get the Winchesters. And me."

That pulled the head vampire's attention back to Gabrielle. Those evil, lifeless eyes scanned up her body, and the younger hunters watched the shiver that slipped through her.

"I have no mate," he mused slowly. "But I think you might do well at my side. Will you still bargain?"

Gabs' jaw was tight, and her eyes brimmed with hatred, but she nodded. "Kill the Winchesters, turn me, torture me, screw me. I don't care. Just _let her go_."

Another long look, and then he nodded.

Gabrielle's relieved sigh was audible, but caught in her throat when the fang spoke. "But first..."

"What?"

"The other Winchester. Release him."

Dean was dropped quickly onto the ground and lay there, the only movement the up and down expansion of his chest as he breathed.

"Now step away."

Gabrielle licked her dry lips and walked around Dean.

"Stop."

She froze, then closed her eyes and put her hands on the back of her head. The leader chuckled darkly. "Very good, my dear. Anna Lee, check her for weapons."

A scowling redhead pushed forward and ran her hands roughly over Gabs' body. The pat down was thorough, but quick, and as she stepped away, she shook her head. "Bitch is clea-"

Her words were cut off by Gabs' roared, "NOW!"

Sam and the vampires watched in shock as Lizzy, Gabrielle and Dean (_Dean_, who Sam had been sure was knocked out) flew into action.

Dean flipped up onto his knees, cross drawing twin guns from beneath his coat, and shooting at every vampire he could see. Four were down in seconds, writhing and gasping as the Dead Man's Blood poisoned them.

Gabs pulled the pair of long, thin lengths of steel that everyone had assumed were accessories out of her hair. It took a moment, but Sam recognized them as Emei Piercers. Spinning, she drove one into the vampire Anna Lee's throat, then yanked it out and used it to stab through and rip out an eye. A kick to the female's chest, which sent her crashing to the ground, and Gabrielle ran forward, pinning the fang down with her knees. Pulling one of the Piercers up, she brought it down to sink through the vamp's right wrist and into the dirt floor. The woman's teeth snapped down, and her nails tangled in Gabrielle's now loose hair. Gabs screeched angrily, slammed the hell of her hand into the female's nose, and ripped her tangled locks out of the ginger's grasp. Then she caught the wrist, slammed it to the ground, and impaled it with the other Piercer. Looking around for a beheading tool, a yell spun her around and Gabrielle caught the machete that was tossed to her, turning back to the redhead.

Lizzy ripped her arm free from the vamp's loose grip, felt the ropes break, and pushed herself forward, rolling and grabbing up her Glock. She fired three bullets into the male vampire still holding Sam, then threw the gun at the tallest hunter. He reflexively jerked his hands apart to reach forward and catch the gun. Then Lizzy, standing over the pile of weaponry, called Gabs' name and lobbed a machete toward her older cousin. Next, she picked up the large hedge clippers with a vengeful grin, and dashed closer, chopping the blades together. The sharp blades cut straight through the neck of the vampire she had already wounded.

It was the wink, and her giggled words, "He needed a trim!" that snapped Sam out of it. Sweeping the room with the gun, he managed to get a shot in the leader's shoulder before another fang plowed into him from behind.

The next few minutes were a tangle of bodies, the shine of blades and splatter of blood, flashes of pain, and the cries of fighters as they strove desperately to kill one another.

Finally, enough of the monsters had been decapitated for Sam to burst past them, his machete in hand, and began searching the rest of the building for the kidnapped children.

Rounding the next corner, he saw an actual door, padlocked from the outside, with a fang-baring, elaborately tattooed man crouched beside it, staring down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Jumping back, Sam felt something brush his elbow. Spinning, blade raised, he found himself staring down at a pair of familiar blue eyes.

"Can't get rid of me that easy, Big Guy," Lizzy teased.

As one, they grinned and rushed the door. The brief scuffle that followed ended with a lightly clawed leg for Lizzy, a bloody nose for Sam, and a newly re-dead vamp.

Sam glared at the padlock, trying to decide if they could break it with the blade, a voice spoke from behind.

"Grabbed these for you. Thought you might want 'em."

Gabs stood there, looking surprisingly collected for someone gasping for breath. She held out Sam's small case full of lock picks.

"Thanks," he said quietly. Then the guilt overwhelmed him. "Listen, Gabs, I'm so sorry that I thought you'd betray us and hurt Dean, and that I called you a bitch and-"

Her hand came up and cut him off. "I get it, Sam. Lizzy, next time can you please shut him down _before_ the sorrowful puppy dog eyes show up?"

The shorter girl grinned, "You got it."

Sam tried again. "But I was wrong, wrong about the whole set up, Gabs, and-"

This time he stopped when Lizzy hopped up and wrapped her arms around Sam's neck. Her weight pulled him down until the blonde easily mashed her lips to his.

Gabs watched for a moment, wanting to laugh. When her cousin kissed with intent, no guy could resist. By the time Lizzy finally pulled back, Sam's lips were swollen, his face was flushed, and he smiled, eyes gleaming. "Right. No apologies."

"Besides," Gabs added, a mocking grin on her face. "If it came down to you, me, Lizzy, or Dean, I'd pick me."

Liz snorted and Sam knelt and began working on the lock. "Where _is_ Dean?" he asked.

"Last I saw, he was holding his own against a chick and the freaky-ass pack leader."

"Huh," Sam muttered, then heard the release click. "Got it!"

Tugging off the pad lock, Sam swung the door open.

The light that flooded into the cramped room fell on the huddled group of twenty or so kids, who blindly stared at the entrance in terror.

Sam and Gabs hesitated, but Lizzy walked straight into the room, a sweet, genuinely friendly smile on her face. "Hi, there. You're Mrs. O'Grady's fifth grade class, right?"

One boy came to his feet and stood in front of his classmates. His voice trembled, but the message was clear. "I won't let you take anyone else."

In response, Liz nodded, before sitting cross-legged on the floor. "I'm not a vampire," she assured him. "here, look." Peeling up her lips, she showed her normal, even, white teeth.

He shook his head, refusing to trust her. "They don't always have fangs. Only when they wanna bite us or scare us."

"Smart boy."

They could tell the boy wanted to smile at the praise, but her remained where he was, determinedly stone faced.

The blonde tilted her head. "What's your name?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

Now her eyes went hard. "Because you are a _human being_. You are a _person_. Not cattle or a snack."

The boy frowned, then took a step closer, suspicious brown eyes watching her like a hawk. "Darryl."

"Hi, Darryl," she waved her hand gently. "Lemme teach you something about vamps. It's true that you can't see their fangs all the time. But you _can_ see the holes the fangs come through. So you check their gums, even if they're not showing velociraptor teeth, and you can tell for sure."

Darryl seemed to process her words, then demanded, "Show me your gums."

Willingly, Liz pulled up her lip again. Darryl looked carefully and then nodded. "You're not a vampire. Are you Buffy?"

That startled a giggle out of her. "Nope, sorry. My name's Lizzy. But me, and Sammy and Gabs-" She hitched her thumb over her shoulder at the two hunters who still stood at the door. "-and Sam's brother, Dean, we kind of have a job like Buffy's. We're here to rescue you guys."

One of the girls, small,with black hair and asian eyes, perked up. "Really?"

"Really. Now, I'm gonna stay here and protect you, while Sam and Gabs and Dean make sure all the vamps are dead. Then Karen Riley, the mom who was on the bus during the field trip, is gonna help us get you all home, okay?"

The kids all nodded and slowly moved closer to Lizzy.

She turned to the others. "Go get 'em, Gabs."

"Stay safe, Lizzy."

It was five minutes later that Gabrielle and Sam came to a thick, sealed door.

Gabs glared. "If they turned any of the kids, they'd keep them here."

"Yeah," Sam sighed. Neither of them wanted to open the door, but they knew they had to. Sam started on the lock that held the heavy bar across the door in place. After that was finished, they pulled it out of the way, and Gabs wrenched the door open. Sam had his gun in one hand and the blade in the other as he charged into the room. When he pulled up and abruptly stopped, Gabrielle peered over his shoulder, and they stared in horrified desolation at the sight before them.

Six kids were in the room. Three were dead and drained, heaped carelessly against the wall. The other three snarled at the hunters, fangs covered in dried blood.

Two of the children were chained to the opposite wall, straining against the metal fetters that held them. The third had somehow gotten free, and was currently chewing on and lapping at the leg of an adult vampire it had torn to shreds. The small fang was busy with its snack and simply growled at Gabs and Sammy, instead of attacking.

They never looked at each other, just moved in. Three swift slices, and the vampire children were unmoving corpses.

Sam felt dead inside. It wasn't fair for kids to be dragged into a world were nightmares were real. He remembered Dean trying so hard to hide the truth from Sam, to protect that naive innocence that was childhood. Rage at the yellow eyed demon, at all the evil, bloodthirsty things out there that had destroyed and twisted his family, and so many others, poured into him.

Then, all that justified fury slipped away, leaving Sam feeling tired and hopeless as he watched a flood of tears track down Gabrielle's cheeks.

Gabrielle stared at the thin, brunette girl whose head lay on the floor at her feet. And memories of Chrissy and Sarah ran through her mind again and again. Stumbling over to the children who had been meals, she knelt beside the each small body, and committed every pale face to memory. It was moments like this that she wished she had faith in a tender, merciful God. These children didn't deserve what had happened to them. Going back, she memorized the other three faces, then pulled a flask and a box of matches out of her pocket.

They never said a word, as they moved all the bodies together, sprinkled the scotch over them and dropped the flaming match. Before the remains were consumed the hunters walked out, closing the door behind them.

The job never got any easier. But when they came back to the room Lizzy and the rest of the children were in, and found Dean with her, watching over the kids like some kind of holy protectors, it was suddenly okay. And worth it, to know that these children were safe.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

a/n What, you really thought they'd all get out of that without anyone being seriously hurt? THINK AGAIN! *evil cackle* I'm mean to these guys.

Staring down at the the pile of corpses, Lizzy shook her head. "Bitches and bastards all, I hope you enjoy rotting in Hell." Taking a gas can, she poured the accelerant onto the stack.

Gabs moved up beside her cousin, jacket open and machete dangling loosely in her grasp. "I think the kids are the least scared of you, Lizzy. Which means you've been elected to get them all back to Karen, and help her coordinate them getting home safe."

"Ah, com'mon, Gabs!" she pouted. "Kids are cute, but they give me migraines!"

A snorted huff of amusement and, "Think of it as practice for when you get knocked up someday."

"_Gaaabs!_" Lizzy whined. Then she frowned. "And I'm careful, dammit! I'm not gonna get _pregnant_, Gabs!" Striking a match, she moved to drop it.

Then something flashed across Gabrielle's peripheral vision, and she instinctively threw herself in front of her small cousin.

Clawed hands dug into her stomach, while the menacing face of her attacker stretched in an angry yowl. Gabs choked on the odor of rotten blood that leaked between the snapping fangs, and brought her arm up and around. It felt like slow motion, but in mere moments, the blade had cleaved straight through from the freak's spinal cord to its windpipe.

The body clung to her for a moment, then spasmed and toppled sideways, right into the pile of cadavers to be burned.

Lizzy's shriek finally reached Gabrielle's ears, as she rushed forward. "Oh God, oh God, oh _God!_ Are you okay Gabs?"

Gabrielle held up the hand with the machete, lifting up a single finger to stop the blonde in her tracks. "Don't worry, Lizzy. The undead piece of shit barely scratched me. Dean can check it out later. Now, you go get those kids home. Got it?"

At any other time, in nearly any other circumstances, the petite hunter would have recognized the too-calm tone her best friend was using. But this time, there was a bus full of terrorized fifth graders waiting on her, and the rapid string of surprise, annoyance, fear, anger and panic from the sudden attack had left her slightly dazed. Lizzy accepted her cousin's words, and smiled. "Okay. Call me if Dean is worried."

Gabs softly reassured her. "You got it, crazy girl."

Lizzy practically flew out of the building, all the manic energy that had been in control during the hunt finally free, her curls fluttering behind her in a splash of gold.

It wasn't until she heard the bus start up and pull away that Gabs swallowed hard, dropped the blade, and looked down at her left side. The arm and hand which had not been grasping her chosen tool for beheadings were pressed spastically against her abdomen.

Carefully peeling her arm away, just far enough to peek at the wound, Gabs finally saw what she already knew - the vamp son of a bitch had literally used his nails to disembowel her.

"Shit," she whispered, tears reaching her eyes.

Gabs was a hunter. A good one. But it was a truth every hunter had to face that they would most likely die alone, horribly and painfully, in the middle of nowhere. No one got into this profession for kicks, expecting to live a long life and die in their sleep, in their own bed. That was just fact.

But Gabs didn't want to die yet. She still had things she needed to do. She had more people to save. But what hurt the most was that she hadn't seen her sisters or her father in so damn long.

As the blood soaked her shirt, arm and jeans, the flood of red fluid left her dizzy, and the pain left her gasping for breath, she choked out a shout. "_Dean!"_

He heard her, and walked into the other room. Immediately, the hunter knew something was wrong and picked up his pace. Dean watched as Gabs' face bleached white, then she swayed wildly, and he was forced to sprint the last few steps to catch her as she crumpled.

"_SAMMY!_" His yell echoed against the high walls, and his tall brother came running in seconds later.

"Dean!" The returning call was panicked. Sam skidded to a halt and let out a small sigh when he saw his older sibling was fine. Then that same breath caught in his throat as Dean lowered Gabrielle carefully to the ground.

"Sammy, get the hell over here and put some pressure on her side! _Now!_"

The order was mostly in Dad's marine voice, but there was an underlying quiver of fear that let Sam know, before he could see it, that Gabrielle's injury was deadly serious.

Jogging over, Sam tore off his coat and shirts, automatically folding up the tees into a makeshift pad to staunch the bleeding. Kneeling down on Gabs' left side, he pulled the woman's arm carefully away and was appalled at the sight of the deep gouges into her flesh and muscle. He swallowed hard when he realized that the grey, rope things curling out of her skin were Gabrielle's intestines. Pushing the t-shirts against the seeping mess, his brown eyes met forest green ones in twin expressions of uselessness and dread.

"I'm gonna call Liz and start the car," Dean announced in a rush. Before he could stand, Gabs fingers hooked through his. He wrapped his hand around those long, thin digits and squeezed.

Her lips moved, and he guessed she was trying to tell him something. Dean leaned close to her mouth, until it actually brushed the edge of his ear. Between agonized gasps, he caught the words, "Don't- Lizzy."

"What?" Dean jerked back. He was sure he understood what she meant, but it didn't make any sense. "Gabs, look at me." Her wide eyes, filled with distressed suffering, locked on his. "Why don't you want me to call Lizzy,?"

This time, he was able to make out the message she formed by watching her mouth.

"_I jumped...in front...she'll... feel guilty_."

He repeated the words and asked, "Is that right?"

A barely perceptible nod.

Dean didn't know what to do. He knew full well that Lizzy would drop everything to be with her idolized cousin if she found out how bad Gabs' was hurt. But he also understood the older sibling need to protect and shelter those you love. He himself had been doing it for so long with Sam, it was the natural reaction.

The logic and the emotion waged a brutal war for a few moments, then he looked back down and nodded. "Okay, sweetheart. We'll play this your way."

She mouthed two more words. "_Call_" and "_Bobby_".

Dean took a moment to praise God that she was letting them contact _someone_

Then she passed out cold, and both brothers had to take a few seconds to stop the anxious trembling of their hands before they could pick her up and move her to the car, as slowly and carefully as possible.

Minutes later, after they had packed Gabrielle into the backseat as comfortably as they were able, Sam folded himself into the back, bracing one arm against the rear seats to keep from crushing the wounded hunter every time Dean took a turn too fast.

Dean muttered under his breath, "You're gonna hafta pay for me to reupholster those seats, Gabs." Dry humor was his naturally defense to anxiety. Then he flipped open his phone and dialed.

The number rang twice, before that familiar, fatherly annoyed voice picked up. "Hello?"

"Bobby?"

"Dean?"

"Bobby, Gabs is hurt real bad." Dean had to pause to swallow down his fearful apprehension. "I think we're gonna have to take her to a hospital. What's the nearest one to Baxterville?"

"No, Dean!" came the immediate, horrified response. "Dean, ya can't do that!"

Then thin hold Dean had on his emotions snapped, and he barked, "Why the holy hell not, Bobby? She's seriously hurt. She's been friggin' _disemboweled_, for God's sake! _I am not a goddamn trauma surgeon! _Even with all the shit I've picked up over the years, there is no way I can fix this!"

There was silence, then a sharp, pained answer, "Listen ta me, boy. I know you're gonna hate me fer sayin' ya just _can't_ take her ta the hospital, but it's the truth. Even if ya do, after they're done savin' her damn life, she'd wake up handcuffed ta the hospital bed!"

That knocked Dean for a loop, and he pushed out, "What?"

A short, serious pause, and Bobby finally answered. "She's wanted by the FBI fer murder, kidnappin', endangerin' a minor, and illegally transportin' a minor across state lines."

"How the hell'd that happen?"

Bobby sighed heavily. "Demon possessed a single mother and was tormentin' the poor woman's kid. Bitch was too strong, and the goddamn exorcism didn't work at first. In the end, Gabby had ta defend her ownself and the mom got stabbed.

"When she finally got the exorcism to work, it was too late fer the mom, and Gabby's blood and fingerprints were everywhere, and the police were comin'. She grabbed the boy and booked it.

"He's in a good home now, an' safe. But the damn charges're still hangin' over that girl's head."

"Son of a bitch," Dean cursed. Bobby was right. Taking Gabs to a hospital was out of the question. "But, shit, Bobby, we can't fix this. We don't have a clue how!"

"What about Castiel?"

Dean's nostrils flared like an angry bull's. "I don't know where in the hell Cas is. He's still off on his damn quest to find God. Cas hasn't called me in weeks, or answered any of the messages I left on his voicemail."

He could picture Bobby rubbing at the bridge of his nose, fighting off the tears he'd never admit to in a million years. The old man finally hopelessly told Dean, "He's our best chance, boy. Somehow, ya've gotta get that fool angel's attention. Alright?"

Dean wanted to put his head in his hands and cry. Instead, he nodded. "I'll try, Bobby."

"Call me as soon as anything happens. You got that, Dean?"

"Yeah."

And in classic Dean fashion, he simply hung up, without saying or waiting for a goodbye.

He hated goddamn goodbyes.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

a/n Castiel is finally about to make his appearance! *laugh* He's awesome.

"Please, Cas. Pick up the damn phone!" Dean groaned and dropped down onto the bumper of the Impala. "Cas, I know I've already left you a ton of messages, but I'm begging you... Hell, I'm literally _praying_ that you'll pick up the phone and get your angelic ass over here.

"This gal, Gabs, she's... She's a good hunter, a good _person._ And she sure as hell doesn't deserve to go out like this. And, dammit all Cas, you could save her! So I'm begging you, pick up the goddamn phone and _get here_.

"Please."

He flipped the phone shut and shoved it angrily back into his jacket.

This all felt so goddamn, hopelessly familiar.

Two hellish days had gone by, since he and Sammy had gotten Gabs back to the motel. They had stripped her down to her wifebeater and panties, then tossed a blanket over her legs and secured a towel tightly over the gash in her abdomen, changing it every few hours. It had taken maybe half a day before the wound became infected and started festering, despite the antibiotics they had basically poured down her throat. At least the blood finally started clotting.

And now Gabrielle lay on one of the motel beds, on top of the damn duck-patterned comforter, delirious and in agony.

The boys had been taking turns trying to comfort her, or distract her. Anything to keep Gabs from letting the hallucinations wring out her soul. And it would work, for a while. Then the pain would get bad again, and she would cry and scream and thrash, trying to protect people who weren't there.

Dean had been with her, one hand squeezing hers, the other patting a cool, wet cloth over her fevered forehead, when she'd spoken of her sisters. Whimpered that she was sorry, called their names, begged them to forgive her for not protecting them, shrieked at whatever she saw hurting them.

Sam had looked on, scared and confused. Dean had flashbacks of the nights after his brother had died, or the terrible dreams that he'd have whenever a monster or ghost came too close to killing Sammy, and he leaned down and caught Gabrielle's wild, hopeless eyes. For what felt like days, but Sam told him later was only an hour, he had whispered, over and over, that Chrissy and Sarah were safe. That they were alive. Repeated the words until those dark eyes fixed on him with all the intensity of a bomb.

"Do you promise?" she had rasped. It was a demand and a plea and a prayer, all wrapped up together.

"I promise, Gabs. I promise."

Sam had recognized the tone, quiet, firm and serious. It was Dean's "no matter what it takes, no matter what I end up sacrificing, I will do this" voice. The same one he had used all Sam's life, whenever he promised to protect or save his baby brother.

Dean paced the parking lot for hours on end, every time he couldn't take it anymore, and Sam stepped in. He would call Cas, call Bobby, call Cas, leave a voicemail, duck a call from Lizzy or flat-out lie to her, call Bobby, call Cas and leave _another_ voicemail.

"Dammit," he muttered, fingertips roughly and constantly circling around and over his mouth. "_Dammit_."

Dean wasn't even sure if he'd ever taught the angel how to check his phone messages.

And then it all struck him again. It was too damn much like before. Too damn much like when his dad first disappeared on them.

He remembered worrying about Sam, about the visions, about the old family house. The call he'd made to Dad and kept secret from Sam, where he'd begged John to come back and help.

Months where he had no clue if his dad was even still alive. Or if John had just decided to cut Dean out of his life. There were days on end were all he could think was that Dad split from him because Dean had been a liability.

And not once had Dad called back. Not _once_.

He knew that Sammy had called when Dean had been electrocuted while they were hunting the Rawhead. That his little brother, who he was supposed to keep safe and content, had left a message that almost broke him, asking John to come help save Dean.

And now it felt like the same thing all over again. He needed Cas, needed him to get here and heal Gabrielle, fix her and make things right. What the hell good was a goddamn guardian angel if he was never around to help?

"Son of a bitch."

Pulling out the phone again, he went to dial and the screen lit up, flashing Lizzy's number.

Dean couldn't answer that. Couldn't explain. Right now, he was too flustered and messed up to spew any kind of believable bullshit. Liz would leave a message, and he or Sam would text her, tell her to keep making sure the kids knew what to say and were getting home safe. And neither of them would breathe a word about Gabs, except to say that the hunter was fine and busy kicking their asses.

Sam had protested, over and over, that Lizzy had the right to know the truth. But Dean had given him a glare that cut Sam off mid sentence. Sam had thought about how he'd kept Dean in the dark about the demon blood. It was the wrong choice, but he still understood why he had made it. As much as it was about not wanting Dean to stop him, there'd also been a big part that was about protecting Dean. Keeping Dean safe and reassured and in the dark.

He couldn't argue with Gabrielle's choice, or that Dean was sticking with it.

Dean gripped the phone tightly, then stomped back into the room.

He stood in the door for a moment, saddened and proud at the sight of Sam, sitting there softly telling Gabs about the time he'd "singlehandedly saved Dean's ass from this pagan scarecrow god".

Snorting, Dean walked up and cuffed Sam on the back of the head. "Hey, Sasquatch. Don't go lying to the pretty lady. I had a plan."

Sam's smile was a lie that the big brother could see straight through. "Sure you did."

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

And Gabs let out something that might have been a laugh, but ended up as a cough. Her gaze was dazed and drained, but she seemed more aware of her surroundings then she had all day.

"How are the kids?" Her throat was dry and the words were ragged.

Dean plopped down on the bed, nudged her hip and grinned gently. "Fine. All though, apparently it's taken a hell of a lot of work to convince them that explaining to their parents and school that they were kidnapped by _vampires_ wasn't a good idea."

"That makes sense."

"But they're getting them home."

"Good." Then a few tears escaped from the corners of her eyes. "What were their names?"

The brothers exchanged a bewildered look.

"The kids who... who we didn't save," she clarified, turning her head away.

Dean reached out and carefully caught her chin. "We can't save 'em all, Gabs. You know that. There was nothing we could do."

There was no response, except the repetition of the question. "What were their names, Winchester?"

Dean's face twisted, and Sam finally answered. "Melissa, Scott, Riley, Eric, James and Caitlyn."

Dark eyes were hidden behind closed lids, and if they didn't know any better, they might have assumed she was sleeping.

Sam remembered the way she had memorized each face. And now she had the names to keep, as a witness. There really had been nothing they could do. It didn't change the fact that six kids were dead.

Dean pulled out the phone again and glared down at it, willed it to ring, to light up with Cas's number.

Which was when there was a push of air, and the sound of something light and downy shifting, and when they turned around, the angel was standing in front of the tv.

Unassuming, calm and sure. His brown hair was the same, almost tidy mess. The trenchcoat, button up shirt, linen slacks, sunday shoes, and loose tie that the Winchesters couldn't picture Castiel without were exactly the same. And the blue eyes that saw everything from an outsider's point of view stared at them emotionlessly.

"You _son of a bitch!_" Dean burst across the space to smack a fist squarely against that cool, stubbled jaw.

Cas staggered back, then raised an eyebrow. "Dean, why are you attempting to harm me? If this is why you distracted me from my quest-"

"You can go find God _after_ you make Gabs better!" the hunter snarled, hands clenched at his sides.

Castiel's observation slid past Dean to the flushed, dark girl on the bed. "You wish me to heal this woman?"

"Yeah, I damn well do!"

"Very well." He walked past Dean, steps slow and steady, expression unchanging.

Gabrielle stared up at him, wide-eyed. "Who are you?"

"An angel of the Lord."

"Damn," she breathed.

Then his soft hands rested on the fevered brow, and a soft glow filled the room.

When the light dissipated, Gabrielle lay, soundly asleep, face peaceful. It was always amazing to the boys when Cas fixed someone, and together they peeled aside the towel and stared in wonder at the smooth skin of the girl's stomach. There wasn't even a scar.

Dean pulled the blanket up all the way to Gabs' chin, then dropped down on the other bed. Sam stepped back and collapsed onto the couch. The stress and panic that had been riding them relentlessly was gone, and it left them feeling worn out.

As his eyelids flickered, Dean fought off sleep long enough to give Castiel a grateful nod. "Thanks, Cas. Dunno what we'd've done without you."

Castiel's answer was as collected and distant as ever. "Next time, perhaps you could allow me to heal the wounded before striking out at me in your unfounded rage."

Dean chuckled, already half asleep. "Wasn't 'nfounded. Yer an angel, an' angels're dicks."

Unconscious, none of the three humans heard the mildly exasperated sigh. "So I have been told, Dean. So I have been told."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

a/n Time to wrap this party up, people! Don't worry. I have some random side stories, and plans for a sequel. (But that has to wait until we're sufficiently into the sixth season for me to insert the girls.) Also, just fyi, the case Bobby calls them with is based on a Maryland folk tale, and I just made a few changes. Check it out, if you want. "Black Aggie".

"So you're an honest-to-God angel?"

The other three hunters watched in amusement as Castiel winced. "I would appreciate it if you would not use my father's name in that manner, Elizabeth."

Lizzy rolled her eyes, skipping happily forward. She didn't bother to lower her voice when she announced to Sam, "Yep. He's a holier-than-thou, sanctimonious, non-swearing servant and messenger of the Big Guy. Cas here doesn't approve of drinking, hustling pool, sex, or any of the other fun vices, does he?"

Dean wrapped an arm around the angel's shoulders, who tensed up at the contact. Ignoring Castiel's discomfort, he nodded. "Got it in one, doll." Slapping Cas firmly on the back, Dean moved forward to his spot at the front, leading the ragtag group to the diner.

"Well, where are your wings?"

The set of the angel's jaw suggested he was trying to decide whether the blonde was being facetious, or was legitimately curious. "They cannot be seen by mortal eyes."

"How 'bout the halo and harp?"

Now Castiel was sure he was being mocked, and the straight lips were pulled down into a displeased frown.

Gabrielle quickly stepped up and smacked her small cousin on the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Lay off, Lizzy. Flirting with an angel will probably only lead to you ending up somewhere full of hellfire and damnation."

Lizzy pouted, while the angel in question's eyebrows shot up. "Do you mean to imply, Gabrielle, that Elizabeth was expressing a sexual interest?"

Gabs grinned widely. "What I'm saying is that Lizzy doesn't have an off button, and she flirts like a fish breathes water."

Between the cultural reference and the analogy, Castiel had become sufficiently lost. Perhaps later he would ask Dean to clarify the older woman's statement.

"Here we are, guys!" Dean spun around, grinning like someone had handed him the world on a platter. He waved at the diner he and Gabs had visited the night before the hunt. "Best pie in the state."

"What is your obsession with pie about?" Gabrielle couldn't help but ask, as they trooped into the old, yellow and brown building and squeezed into a leather booth.

"It's _pie_, woman," was all the answer the oldest hunter gave.

As Lizzy went back to flirting with Cas, who had the look of a lamb watching a wolf stalk closer, and Sam read through the menu, bitching about the lack of a decent salad, Dean caught Gabs' eye. A silent conversation passed between them.

_You ever gonna tell Liz?_

_Maybe._

He raised an eyebrow.

_Okay, maybe not. Why?_

A casual shrug. _Just doesn't seem right._

_When you made that deal a few years back, were you planning to tell Sam?_

_Hell no! But this isn't the same._

Her smile was sweet and tinged with condescension. _Right._

Dean gave up and pulled out his own menu, grinning at the pictures of cheeseburgers, fries, and the twelve flavors of pie.

Gabs' phone started ringing. She checked it, then flipped it open. "Hey, Bobby. What's up?...Yeah, I'm fine...You sure?...Okay, hang on a sec."

She grabbed a napkin and then stopped the passing waitress. "'Scuse me, do you have a pen I could borrow?"

"Sure, honey."

"Okay, Bobby. Go for it."

After scribbling something down in writing that was illegible to either of the brothers, she nodded. "Got it. Thanks Bobby...I'm _fine_, dammit!...Right, yes, I promise I'll call. Bye."

Snapping the phone shut, she stared down at the napkin, then looked up at her cousin.

Lizzy immediately shook her head. "No way, Gabs. I at least get a milkshake before we book."

Sam had a good idea what was going on, but curiosity won out. "What is it?"

Handing the pen back to the waitress, with a quick "Thanks!", Gabrielle sighed. "Some statue in Maryland, kept on a family plot, out in Druid Hill, that's supposedly cursed. Apparently, it killed off an idiot from a fraternity who was in the cemetery as part of Pledge Week. Two other boys went blind from looking the thing in the eyes.

"Bobby thinks it will be a basic salt and burn. The stories say that the ghost haunting and controlling the statue is a woman named Aggie Agnus. He thinks her husband killed her and stuck the statue over her grave as a kind of penance. But now something must've woken her up, and she's taking it out on the men who come wandering through the graveyard.

"And if that weren't enough, there have been a series of women miscarrying for three months. One of the other stories claims that Aggie was pregnant when she died. So we get to go lay her to rest again before anyone else gets killed or blinded."

Dean scowled. "Well that sounds like fun."

"Actually, Dean, it sounds quite depressing," Castiel chimed in.

The hunters all rolled their eyes.

"It's sarcasm, Cas. I seriously need to teach you how to use it."

The angel just did that puzzled, head-tilt.

"When do you think you'll leave?" Sam asked earnestly.

Gabs laughed, and turned to Dean. "He's doing that puppy-dog-eyes thing again."

Dean reached across the booth and lightly punched his little brother in the arm. "Dude, you're sad."

"Don't hit me, Dean!"

They fell to squabbling like a bunch of kids, and the angel watched in befuddlement. But he was also pleased to see Dean and Sam happy. It was rare, these days. Any moment of joy was one Castiel was glad for.

A few hours later, they (minus Cas, who had disappeared off on his "quest" again) all stood in the parking lot staring at each other.

Their shit was packed and in the cars, and the job was done. There was really no reason to hesitate about splitting up. But over the past few days, they had changed from acquaintances to actual friends, and that wasn't something to brush off easily.

Eventually, Lizzy strutted over and stood on tiptoes to sweep her lips across Dean's cheek. "See you 'round, hot stuff."

He grinned down at her. "Same to you, Liz."

Then she literally threw herself into Sam's arms and laid a kiss on him that made Dean think of porno movies, and had Gabrielle rolling her eyes. When the blonde finally stepped back, Sam's tan face was bright red, and he looked as dazed as if someone had taken a bat to his head. Licking her lips, then smirking, Liz slapped the tall brother's ass. "Just so you won't forget me. Later, Sammy."

Slowly coming back to himself, Sam shook his head, amused. "I don't think anyone who meets you could ever forget you, Lizzy. Stay safe."

"Will do! Later, boyos!" Turning, she hopped into the passenger seat of the Shelby and stuck in her ipod earbuds.

Which left Gabrielle leaning against the side of the car. With a frown, she stepped up and held out her hand to Sam. As he shook it, the woman spoke. "Don't forget what I told you."

Sam nodded. "I won't. Thanks."

"Thank you."

Stepping around Sam, who stole a page out of Liz's book and retreated into the Impala, Gabs came to stand in front of Dean.

They both felt awkward, standing there. Then Dean muttered, "Screw it." and jerked the girl to him, holding her tightly as he planted a kiss on her lips.

She didn't retreat, just met the kiss with a slow, honeyed response. They pulled back at the same time and she grinned. "Take care of yourself, Winchester."

"I always do, Gabs."

"Liar." Pivoting, she walked around to the driver's door of the Shelby. Just before she swung in, she called over the cars, "Don't be surprised if I call to check up on you."

"What are you, my mother?" Dean scoffed, pleased and exasperated all at once.

"No, asshole. I'm your friend."

"There is that," he responded sagely.

She laughed. "Oh yeah. And tell that angel of yours thanks."

"Bye, Gabs."

"Bye, Winchester."

He rested his weight back against the Impala, and watched as the Shelby pulled out and away, heading west.

Getting into his own car, he turned the key, then a thought struck him. "Hey, Sammy."

The younger brother looked over at Dean, expecting a comment about Lizzy's display. "What, Dean?"

"Why'd the vampire cross the road?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "You're a dick."

With a roar of laughter, and the loud sounds of Metallica vibrating through the air, the Impala drove off down the highway.

The End.

**a/n Holy crap, I actually finished! Wow. Let me sit back and marvel for a minute or two... Anyway, thanks to everyone who read and commented on this story, and I love these characters. I'm going to be posting a sort of epilogue tomorrow that just involves Gabs' reaction to finding out that Sam took the jump into Hell, and talking with Dean. I'm gonna have to wait a bit to start the sequel, since I want to set it during season six. WHICH HASN'T STARTED YET! WHY, GOD, WHY? Must go get a Jensen Ackles fix. *snort* Later, folks!**


End file.
